2010 Arietta On The White Keys
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Tasting notes
Another of the highlights in this tasting, the 2010 On The White Keys is a powerful wine. Here the flavors have decidedly a more tropically leaning profile of candied orange peel, honey, mint and butter give the 2010 much of its distinctive personality. The late season heat spike in August seems to have pushed the flavors into the realm of more tropical notes that are not often found in this wine. The 2010 is much more expressive today than it has been in the past.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Arietta's 2010 On The White Keys Artists' Reserve is a selection of six barrels of On The White Keys that saw an additional year of oak aging. A rich, resonant white, the 2010 impresses for its overall balance and pure class. Melon, cantaloupe and passion fruit are all supported by veins of incisive, pure minerality. The 2010 Artists' Reserve is 60% Sauvignon and 40% Semillon. This is another highly distinctive, compelling white from Arietta.
Arietta’s 2010 On The White Keys Artists’ Reserve is a selection of six barrels of On The White Keys that saw an additional year of oak aging. A rich, resonant white, the 2010 impresses for its overall balance and pure class. Melon, cantaloupe and passion fruit are all supported by veins of incisive, pure minerality. The 2010 Artists’ Reserve is 60% Sauvignon and 40% Semillon. This is another highly distinctive, compelling white from Arietta. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2016. (Not yet released) Andy Erickson has done a great job with these new releases from Arietta. Tel. (707) 963-5918
(80% sauvignon blanc and 20% semillon): Yellow-gold. Savory, complex aromas of musky pineapple, gooseberry, grapefruit and honeysuckle, lifted by fresh herbs and resiny spices. Brisk, intense and a bit youthfully ungiving, with strong acidity and a lightly phenolic quality contributing to the wine's very dry impression (it actually finished with less than one gram per liter residual sugar). The fruit was picked late at low potential alcohol level (around 22 degrees Brix, according to winemaker Andy Erickson), and only a small percentage of the wine went through malolactic fermentation. This was fermented in barrel, then aged in one-third stainless steel, one-third neutral wood and one-third new oak.