Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts, along with a small group of fellow trailblazers, have led the way in helping redefine what California wine can be and taste like. Their wines have a deep sense of terroir, refined and elegant structure and are deliciously complex. In 2001, when they began this endeavor, finding local wines with these qualities was tough. But along with their aforementioned colleagues, they started a small revolution and these days you can walk into many a wine shop and find an example of what's been coined, “The New California Wine”.

But, perhaps a better sobriquet for Duncan and Nathan's wines might be The New California Classic. Their wines are a nod to the great California wines made in the decades before Parkerization. They have shown that California is capable of producing wines that shine in their youth and will gracefully age to glorious full maturity.

Arnot Roberts has become synonymous with New California wine in a lot of ways. Since their founding in 2001, they've spent a lot of time scouring the state for some of the best previously unknown vineyard sites, doing so with a respect for the environment that is nothing short of remarkable. They work with all their growers to encourage organic farming and minimize their environmental impact: these are wines that are not only delicious, but that you can feel good about drinking.

Like all great winemakers, the cornerstone of Duncan and Nathan’s approach starts in the vineyard. They are dedicated to finding super distinct and unique sites from Mendocino in the North to the Santa Cruz Mountains South of the Bay Area. Their enormous respect for California’s terroir have led them to some of the state’s most celebrated vineyards. But they aren’t just about the famous sites; they know the state is full of amazing and still unheralded regions and they’ve done an incredible job of hunting out great vines in very special spots.

What importer Polaner Selections has to say about this wine...

Vineyard
The Watson Ranch vineyard is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the San Pablo Bay in the southernmost end of the Napa Valley. The vineyard can be seen on the top of the hill just east of the Green Island Vineyard which we sourced fruit from 2007-09. Exposed and austere, the Watson Ranch is a wind whipped site planted in 1993 by the talented grower Salvador Ramos on marine deposits over limestone. This soil type is extremely rare on the North Coast and lends itself perfectly to growing world class Chardonnay. This soil coupled with organic farming techniques and cool windy conditions give this parcel great potential to produce Chardonnay of singular character.
Soil
Marine deposits over limestone
Viticulture
Organic, dry farmed
Vinification
Whole cluster pressed to stainless steel for native primary fermentation at ambient temperature. No heating or cooling applied. Full malolactic.
Aging
10 months in neutral French oak