Summary
Arnot-Roberts in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, is one of California's most closely watched small wineries. Childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts founded it in 2001 – with a single barrel of wine in their own basement. Today they produce around two dozen small lots each year, almost all of them single-vineyard wines from carefully chosen sites across the state. Instead of power and opulence, the duo focuses on freshness, moderate alcohol and transparency: Syrah, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon sit alongside rarities such as Trousseau or a rosé from Touriga Nacional.
History
Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts grew up together in Napa Valley in the early 1980s, surrounded by farming and winemaking. Nathan's father was a cooper who built oak barrels for wineries – a craft Nathan took up himself after university. Duncan, meanwhile, gained experience as an assistant winemaker at renowned houses, including, according to importers, Kongsgaard, Caymus, Groth and Wind Gap.
In 2001 the two friends decided to make their own wine: the first vintage amounted to just one barrel, made in the basement. From there Arnot-Roberts grew slowly, as the duo went looking for special, often overlooked vineyards. The winery later moved into a plain industrial building on Healdsburg Avenue, which still houses the tasting room today. Since 2015, Caitlin Quinn has strengthened the team as assistant winemaker.
A family detail adorns every bottle: Nathan Roberts is the grandson of Margrit Biever Mondavi, whose botanical drawings appear on the labels.
Location & Terroir
Arnot-Roberts is a textbook example of a California winery whose terroir lies not in one place but in many. From the winery in Healdsburg, grapes from very different areas are vinified: from the cool, wind-swept Sonoma Coast via the Santa Cruz Mountains and Napa Valley to the Sta. Rita Hills, the area around Clear Lake and the Sierra Foothills.
Most of these sites share a rather cool or elevation-driven fresh climate that favours slow ripening and lively acidity. One example is Luchsinger Vineyard west of Clear Lake: at around 430 metres (1,400 feet), Trousseau and Touriga Nacional grow there on volcanic alluvium over ancient river cobbles. The duo often works with its growers over many years and places great value on conscientious farming.
Style & Philosophy
The wines of Arnot-Roberts follow the idea of showing the character of each site as unadorned as possible. Fermentations run on native yeasts, whites are whole-cluster pressed and fermented in stainless steel, and Syrah is fermented with a high share of whole clusters and then basket-pressed. The Cabernets age for around two years in French oak. There is no fining or filtration.
The result is wines often at only about 11 to 13% ABV – taut, aromatic and precise, a deliberate counterpoint to the "bigger is better" motto that shaped California wine for so long. This fits the duo's curiosity for varieties rarely seen in Northern California: Trousseau from the Jura, Touriga Nacional from Portugal, Ribolla Gialla and Falanghina.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range changes with each vintage but includes some constants. Among the best-known sites from which Arnot-Roberts makes wine are:
- Que Syrah Vineyard and Clary Ranch (Sonoma Coast) – cool, peppery Syrahs
- Luchsinger Vineyard (Clear Lake) – Trousseau and the Touriga Nacional rosé, made since 2010
- Watson Ranch (Napa Valley) – Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc
- Trout Gulch (Santa Cruz Mountains) and Sanford & Benedict – Chardonnay
- Fellom Ranch (Santa Cruz Mountains) as well as Clajeux and Montecillo – Cabernet Sauvignon
- Bengier Vineyard (Ribolla Gialla) and Las Cimas (Falanghina)
The single-vineyard wines are complemented by appellation wines that offer a more accessible way in.
Awards
Arnot-Roberts regularly collects high scores from international critics such as Vinous and is often named in the trade press as one of the key figures of the "new" California wine scene. The wines are sought after by sommeliers and merchants worldwide and frequently sell out quickly. Syrah and Trousseau in particular have helped California stand today for freshness, finesse and diversity as well.
