Here we are on the cusp of Spring – almost 70F today – too bad it’s alittle grey! But winter continues to fade, and next week we spring ahead and get an hour of extra daylight. Sounds to me like that would be the perfect time to savor a nicely chilled glass of rosé! And voila, right on cue we are offering a shimmering, dry, crisp, and refreshing rosé from one of California’s most innovative wineries, Arnot-Roberts.
Known for seeking out unique vineyard sites from the Sonoma Coast, Santa Cruz Mtns, Napa Valley and Moon Mtn AVA’s, they produce a range of wines that perfectly express their origins from the usual cast of characters – Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay – but also from wine geek favorites such as Trousseau, Gamay, and Ribolla Gialla. If this doesn’t qualify them for Geek Wine Sunday I don’t know what does!
Their 2021 Rosé is as geeky as it gets, a blend of 67% Touriga Nacional, 21% Gamay, 10% Tinta Cao, 2% Grenache from several different vineyard sites including Luchsinger, Barsotti, Witters and Watson. The fruit is lightly foot trodden, then fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts.
Only minuscule amounts are made, and this always sells out as soon as it arrives. Most years I only get a few cases, this year we score big with about a dozen on the way. But don’t wait, this will not last long!