Arthur Earl2115 visitors
| Founded in 1996, with our first vintage in 1997, Arthur Earl is no longer one of the newest, but still one of the smallest wineries in Santa Barbara County. Production remains very small, only 2500 cases of premium, handcrafted wines for the 2004 vintage. Arthur Earl focuses on wines from the grape varieties native to the Rhone Valley of France and Northern Italy, plus Zinfandel. | Los Olivos, CA
Phone: (805) 639-1771
Website: http://www.arthurearl.com
Appellation: Santa Ynez Valley |
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Pinot Grigio
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2005 Pinot Grigio
Santa Barbara County
Pinot Grigio is an Italian variety, primarily produced in the Friuli and Alto Adige regions north of Venice and in other parts of northeast Italy. Like other popular Italian white ... morewines, it is light in color and flavor. Although we think of Pinot Grigio as a white wine, the skins of this grape are actually copper, or salmon, colored, and despite the fact that the juice is pressed off the skins immediately, a small amount of “pinkish” color manages to end up in the wine. If the wine is not fined a very slight shade of color can appear in the finished wine, although this is rarely visible in the bottle or glass. In the 2005 vintage, despite our best efforts at fining and filtering, some of that slight red color still remains, reminding us that Pinot Grigio is not really a white grape after all. This barrel aged version of our Pinot Grigio is the style we have come to prefer over the crispier stainless steel only version. However, it is intriguing to experience the effect the oak has on this variety. While barrel aging creates more creaminess and smoothness, including a really great rich finish, the exceptional fruit of these grapes still shines through. Pinot Grigio is meant to drink
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Viognier
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2004 Viognier
Santa Ynez Valley
Viognier is one of the three northern Rhone white varieties found in common usage, and probably, the most common and popular of the three. It has great flavors of peaches and apric ... moreots, with the peach definitely dominating in this wine. Because of the forty percent new oak barrels used for fermentation and aging, it has a wonderful richness, almost sweetness that compliments the peach flavor, although there is no significant residual sugar in the wine. Viognier, unfortunately, is a variety lacking in a lot of acid so that it is not a very long lived wine, but that does not mean that it can not be an excellent alternative to Chardonnay, just drink it young. As this is a big full flavored white wine you can be especially creative with your food pairings. Think about things that you serve with fruit sauces or accompaniments. Ham, turkey, fish, lamb and pork come to mind, but it can also be served almost anywhere you would serve Chardonnay.
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Mourvedre
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2003 Mourvedre
Blue Oak Vineyard, Paso Robles
The early vintages of this wine, from the young vines were dominated by the fruitiness of the grapes, but as the vines maturing the fruit flavors are becoming less dominant. The st ... moreone fruit flavors of apricots and peaches that I find a bit unusual in a red wine are still there, just more subtle, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable wine. As is typical with southern Rhone varieties, another Rhone variety, in this case Grenache was blended with the Mourvedre to add complexity and balance. The eleven percent of Grenache is hardly noticeable, but shows mostly in the fruit of the nose and in the smooth, full finish. This wine is typical of our “style”, with great color, full mouth feel and forward fruit.
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Nebbiolo
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2003 Nebbiolo
Stolpman Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley
This is the newest vintage of our Nebbiolo. As usual we see some variation from vintage to vintage. 2002 was a year in which we increased our production of this variety. The grapes ... more were picked a little earlier than usual and the wine has a bit more acidity than recent vintages. The wonderful cherry flavors are still there. Each year I try to make this wine a little more “Italian” while maintaining the cherry-like richness that makes this wine so popular. The way this wine finishes makes me think I am on the right track. Considered by many to be the best Italian grape, Nebbiolo is the pride of the Piemonte (Piedmont) region in Northwest Italy. Our version is medium bodied and fruity. The cherry red color is a hint of the black cherry flavors that dominate this wine. There is just the right amount of acidity for an Italian red wine, which makes it an especially fine accompaniment to a good tomato sauce such as you might have on anything from pasta to fish to chicken to veal to beef.
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Barbera
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2003 Barbera
Santa Barbara County
Barbera is an Italian variety, produced throughout the Piedmont region, and is, in fact, the most planted grape by far in that part of Italy, and in other parts of the Northwest. I ... moretalian Barberas can be very dark in color and equally full-bodied, even heavy and acidic, or sometimes lighter and fruity, but Barberas produced in the coastal regions of California are softer in tannin and acidity. This version is a full-bodied but soft-textured wine with minimal tannins. It exhibits wonderful aromas and flavors of fruit, mostly cherry, and is a pleasant, easy drinking, red wine that is very food friendly.
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Updated on April 2, 2008
CrazyAboutWine recommends contacting Arthur Earl at http://www.arthurearl.com or calling (805) 639-1771 to verify the winery's location.
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