Maybe the best Arise for current drinking, as well as surely the best bargain to be had from high-flying winemaker Aaron Pott.
Wilfred Wong rates this 2017 Arise the finest vintage to date, saying:
The 2017 Blackbird Arise is a beautifully designed wine blending Bordeaux grape varieties into a delicious mix of flavor personalities. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers an excellent mix of ripe fruit, rusticity, and savory spices.
Suckling rates it outstanding, too. As does Vinous.
Here’s a quite perceptive recent CellarTracker review:
Decidedly richer and fruitier than the 2016, along with similar emphasis on black pepper and spice (although the hints of green pepper were noticeably absent). The palate’s focus is also on the fruit, which is rich and luscious. I was ready to dismiss this wine as a philosophical shift to the dark, er fruity, side, but starting on the mid-palate, there is a whole lot more here. Sure, the fruit continues to dominate, but OK, Whoa. Depth, intrigue, countless flavors, Yowza. And, yes, Whoa.
Blackbird lovers are going to flip out over this one at only $35.
The name “Arise,” by the way, is from the Beatles song “Blackbird” – and the birds on the label are arranged like the musical notes in the song.
