Arnot-Roberts Rosé California 2023

In the 1980s, best friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts were just two kids who loved to peddle their bikes up and down the dusty, vineyard-lined roads of California’s Napa Valley. Without their realizing it, the area’s bucolic setting and agrarian culture left an impression on them: Both went on to pursue careers related to winemaking and viticulture, always with a mind for sustainability and a respect for terroir. In 2001, the two decided to make some wine together, producing just one barrel’s worth in their basement in Healdsburg. The rest, as they say, is history, and Arnot-Roberts (as they now call their operation) has become known as one of the most dynamic, interesting producers on the west coast. Working with unique, mindfully farmed and historic vineyard sites across the state, they make just a handful of coveted small-lot, low-intervention wines each year, and their rosé may be one of the best of the bunch. The fruit was hand-harvested, then lightly foot-trodden; the juice was fermented with native yeasts in all stainless steel tanks. The result is supremely elegant and nuanced, with high-toned acidity delivering delicate strawberry notes, mineral tinges, and just the smallest lick of salinity. Sustainably grown, organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.