Arnot-Roberts
Sonoma County // California // USA
Organic
“For me, this is one of California’s most exciting wineries. The wines are restrained and elegant, without any of the over-ripeness that many Californian wines display. They seem to possess a beautiful textural quality, with attractive fruit but also lovely balance.”
JAMIE GOODE, WINE ANORAK
“Winemakers always search for nuance and complexity, but Roberts and Meyers take that quest to its extreme. ‘Texture’, ‘structure’, ‘definition’ and ‘control’ and words that crop up again and again in my notes. These are wines stripped to their essence, all extraneous components removed to reveal the bare brickwork beneath. It’s exhilarating…”
ADAM LECHMERE, THE WORLD OF FINE WINE, ISSUE 49
Since foundation in 2001, Arnot-Roberts has been one of the most progressive and revolutionary producers on the California landscape.
Initially their focus was just on making great Californian wines, but when the cool 2005 vintage gave them wines in a more austere, high acid style than the region was used to, Nathan and Duncan reacted completely differently to practically everyone else in California. They loved them and decided to pursue lower ripeness levels and higher acidity in all of their wines henceforth.
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Their focus shifted to the best cool climate sites they could find, most of which were struggling to sell their fruit due to the obsession with high sugar levels that was pervasive at the time. Vineyards like Clary Ranch, Trout Gulch, Luchsinger and Sanford & Benedict are lauded today, but not long ago it was only Nathan and Duncan that wanted their fruit.
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Winemaking at Arnot-Roberts borrows from both the old world and new. While each wine gets its own regime, the general technique is decidedly low-tech, and includes indigenous fermentations, little or no new wood, and whole-cluster inclusion for the red wines. Intervention is minimal - just a conscientious addition of SO2 prior to bottling.
Chardonnay is fermented in stainless steel and then aged in neutral wood - with a nod to the masters, Dauvissat and Raveneau. Syrah is fermented 100% whole cluster with submerged cap and pumping over - a la Gentaz and Juge, and then aged in barrels coopered by Roberts himself. His father, in fact, was a cooper and taught him the craft.
Featured Wines
Vore Vineyard Ribolla Gialla
2021
“The Ribolla Gialla Vore Vineyard is especially fine in 2021. Bold, punchy and savoury, the Ribolla offers gorgeous complexity in its layered orchard fruit, herbs, almond and floral notes…”.
93 points, Antonio Galloni
California Red Wine
2021
“The 2021 Red Wine California is a new Bordeaux-based red… made initially to take the place of the 2020 Cabernets that would have been released around this time but were compromised by smoke… initially intended to be a fun project, but Arnot and Roberts may have stumbled into what is really a pretty serious red with real potential. The 2021 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. A powerful, old-school wine, the 2021 is going to need a few years to shed some tannin. I loved it.”
95+ points, Antonio Galloni
Clary Ranch Syrah
2021
"The 2021 Syrah Cleary Ranch captures all the coastal, cool-climate savoriness of the Petaluma Gap. Game, scorched earth, tobacco and black pepper are all woven into a core of dark red-fleshed fruit. Huge tannins, a combination of site and a vintage with low juice yields wrap it all together. This dense, concentrated Syrah needs a few years in bottle, although it is already stunning in its beauty."
97 points, Antonio Galloni