New Releases from Arnot Roberts: French Mind, California Heart!
Frequent fans of this newsletter will recognize today's producer. Arnot Roberts is a Burgundy/Rhone lovers love in California. Seriously, it is shocking the number of customers who only buy Burgundy, Rhone and Barolo from me but find themselves drawn to this producer as both as a daily enjoyment and QPR wine. Additionally, these wines can age like a mother f$%^er. Stubborn, closed and bursting with life on their first opening. I have had some with a decade of age that barely scrape the surface. The Syrahs are American Cote Rotie, the Chards, Meursault; and the rest, just a hodgepodge of awesomeness.
Founded in 2001, Arnot Roberts is a collaborative project from two childhood friends––aww!––who rediscovered each other after working with other wineries and getting their feet wet. They realized that they both had a love for the uniqueness of the Santa Cruz mountains and the distinct terroir. Using as sustainable methods as possible without being natural, the friends are dedicated to non-interventionist policies while still realizing what is needed to make their wines shine!
Arnot Roberts is a must try for those obsessed with killer, top of the line CA wines and those old world freaks who want to try something new. Now is the time.....
I had the pleasure of trying a chunk of these last week while the boys were in town. Splendid is beyond the pale!
Founded in 2001, Arnot Roberts is a collaborative project from two childhood friends––aww!––who rediscovered each other after working with other wineries and getting their feet wet. They realized that they both had a love for the uniqueness of the Santa Cruz mountains and the distinct terroir. Using as sustainable methods as possible without being natural, the friends are dedicated to non-interventionist policies while still realizing what is needed to make their wines shine!
Arnot Roberts is a must try for those obsessed with killer, top of the line CA wines and those old world freaks who want to try something new. Now is the time.....
I had the pleasure of trying a chunk of these last week while the boys were in town. Splendid is beyond the pale!
- 10% off 6, 15% off 12
- Wines Arrive 4/21
- Below is a mixture of own reviews and professional ones
- Wines listed as "extremely limited" must be purchased in tandem with others
2018 Arnot-Roberts Rose
Newsletter Price: $28.99
Hands down one of the top 5 American roses year in and year out and a fan favorite of Mr. Eric Asimov. A myriad of fresh and exotic fruit with pits of smokiness and herbs. Fleshy, colorful and juicy on the palate with good grip and long exotic tannins that make this a prime all year round rose.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Trout Gulch Santa Cruz
Newsletter Price: $52.99
95 Points Vinous: "Another highlight in this range, the 2017 Chardonnay Trout Gulch is stellar. Bright and focused, as it always is, the 2017 offers a striking interplay of tension and fruit density. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and chalk are all beautifully delineated in this saline, finely-sculpted Chardonnay. The 2017 is going to need a few years to come into its own, but it is positively striking, even in the early going."
2017 Arnot Roberts Ribolla Gialla Vare Vyd (Extremely Limited)
Newsletter Price: $49.99
From Vare Vineyard at the base of Mt. Veeder, where the soils are deep, alluvial, and gravelly clay-loam. This is one of only 3 or so Ribolla Giallas grown in the U.S. and not just done for it's "oh, I'm so cool, I'm growing exotic Italian varietals that are even exotic in Italy." The site was made for this. Mild skin contact so technically an orange wine but a more mild one. Loads of weird green apples, lime zest, peach and nectarine. Fleshy character with a bit of this and that on the palate.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Watson Vineyard
Newsletter Price: $44.99
Take me home California Meursault. You do you! Fat and ripe nose with pear, hazelnut and apricot wrapped around stony minerality. Zesty and fresh on the palate with sizeable minerality showing stone and chalk. Long and vibrant as hell and not $75 and up like Meursault.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Sonoma Coast
Newsletter Price: $44.99
93 Points Vinous: The 2017 Syrah (Sonoma Coast) is a gorgeous wine and a huge overachiever in its peer group. Bright red cherry and plum fruit, rose petal, lavender and spice abound in this super-expressive, pliant Syrah. The purity of the flavors is simply remarkable. Medium in body, gracious and beautifully perfumed, the 2017 is a rock-star wine.
Newsletter Price: $49.99
From Vare Vineyard at the base of Mt. Veeder, where the soils are deep, alluvial, and gravelly clay-loam. This is one of only 3 or so Ribolla Giallas grown in the U.S. and not just done for it's "oh, I'm so cool, I'm growing exotic Italian varietals that are even exotic in Italy." The site was made for this. Mild skin contact so technically an orange wine but a more mild one. Loads of weird green apples, lime zest, peach and nectarine. Fleshy character with a bit of this and that on the palate.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Watson Vineyard
Newsletter Price: $44.99
Take me home California Meursault. You do you! Fat and ripe nose with pear, hazelnut and apricot wrapped around stony minerality. Zesty and fresh on the palate with sizeable minerality showing stone and chalk. Long and vibrant as hell and not $75 and up like Meursault.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Sonoma Coast
Newsletter Price: $44.99
93 Points Vinous: The 2017 Syrah (Sonoma Coast) is a gorgeous wine and a huge overachiever in its peer group. Bright red cherry and plum fruit, rose petal, lavender and spice abound in this super-expressive, pliant Syrah. The purity of the flavors is simply remarkable. Medium in body, gracious and beautifully perfumed, the 2017 is a rock-star wine.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Clary Ranch
Newsletter Price: $71.99
96 Points Vinous: The 2017 Syrah Clary Ranch is striking. Deep and resonant on the palate, the 2017 has so much to say. Some of the angular edges and intense savoriness the Clary Ranch can show have been soften by the intense heat of the year. Silky, fine tannins wrap around a core of dark cherry, plum, lavender, spice and pepper. A Syrah of power and structural intensity, the Clary Ranch is incredibly distinctive, and that is in a lineup in which many of the wines are exceptional. Two thousand-seventeen is a superb vintage for the Clary Ranch Syrah.
Newsletter Price: $71.99
96 Points Vinous: The 2017 Syrah Clary Ranch is striking. Deep and resonant on the palate, the 2017 has so much to say. Some of the angular edges and intense savoriness the Clary Ranch can show have been soften by the intense heat of the year. Silky, fine tannins wrap around a core of dark cherry, plum, lavender, spice and pepper. A Syrah of power and structural intensity, the Clary Ranch is incredibly distinctive, and that is in a lineup in which many of the wines are exceptional. Two thousand-seventeen is a superb vintage for the Clary Ranch Syrah.
2017 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Que Vineyard (Extremely Limited)
Newsletter Price: $84.99
97 Points Vinous: "Arguably the highlight in this range, the 2017 Syrah Que Syrah Vineyard is outrageously beautiful. A wine of exotic beauty, the 2017 has so much to offer. Super-ripe black cherry, plum, lavender, spice and black pepper are front and center. The Que Syrah stands out for a compelling interplay of exotic ripeness and cool climate savoriness. It is one of the most exciting young wines I tasted in Sonoma this year. Don't miss it."
2016 Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Sonoma
Newsletter Price: $104.99
96 Points Vinous: The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo Vineyard is another outrageously beautiful wine from Arnot-Roberts. Dark, powerful and yet very much old-school in its sense of structure, the 2016 has so much to offer. Blackberry, sage, smoke, grilled herbs, leather and incense all flesh out in a dramatic, potent Cabernet Sauvignon endowed with tremendous class and pure power. I loved it.
2016 Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Fellom Ranch Santa Cruz
Newsletter Price: $111.99
96 Points Vinous: The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Fellom Ranch is sensual and nuanced, with tremendous textural finesse. Over the last few years, Duncan Arnot and Nathan Roberts seem to have given this wine an extra degree of elegance - especially in the tannins - that other vintages did not always show. Time in the glass brings out a range of floral, earthy, spiced and cedary notes that are typical of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernets, along with layers of dimension that flesh out effortlessly.
2016 Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Sonoma (Extremely Limited)
Newsletter Price: $104.99
94 Points Vinous: "The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Vineyard is a powerful, savory wine. A blast of red cherry, plum, chalk, chocolate and scorched earth gives the wine its distinctive profile. The purity of the flavors is striking. Medium in body, nuanced and super-expressive, the Clajeux is superb in 2016. It is a terrific expression of Sonoma's Chalk Hill district."