This was our first bottle from Arcane Cellars. Jason Silva is the mastermind behind Arcane. Before becoming a winemaker ("coming to my senses" as he described the change), he had gotten his M.A. in English Lit with a focus on medieval literature. So, I suppose he and his wines are a natural match to our medieval theme. Anyway on to the first bottle ...

The first impression was: vanilla! Clearly this wine had sat on oak for awhile. It smelled of that vanilla sweetness. And while the alcohol was high (nearly 14%), it wasn't hot. Once past the vanilla, the nose had river rock, and rose pedals. I caught hints of something like cedar. And Denise claimed to smell something like Kiwi. Both of us weren't exactly sure ... elusive aromas to be sure. And a bit later, the nose had clove too.

The taste was red cherry, and vanilla. Brian noted that it was a "bit of a fruit bomb for a Cab". And indeed it wasn't your run-of-the-mill Cab. First, it was very smooth -- the mouthfeel was really great. We drank another Salem Cab along-side this, and the Arcane was much smoother. In fact, the tannins were very elusive in the taste. You really didn't taste them until the finish.

I kept some of the wine around and tasted it again the next night. The nose at that point was decidedly: vanilla, rose, and clove. And in that order. Intriguing. The mouthfeel was still very smooth, and supple. The taste was immediately sweet from the vanilla which hung there for a second or two. Imagine a cherry jolly rancher, but without any sugar -- sort of a not-sweet hard candy. It was sort of like that. And then it went dry. Even in the taste and finish, there's that strong vanilla+rose+clove. At the very end, pepper comes through and some of the tannins. No, not that bitter stem taste exactly, but it was no longer sweet.

Overall the group was split on this wine. First, we have to mention that the Brian and Wade didn't like the label design. However, Wade, Don and myself very much liked this wine. We felt it was the best bottle of the night. Don was very emphatic about this. However, Denise doesn't like wines heavy with vanilla, so this wasn't for her. It is likely that over time, that vanilla will mellow out -- if you can patiently wait for such things. Denise didn't like it, whereas Don loved it, so the rating will have to be a compromise.

Cost:    

Rating:    7.5