2017 Arnot-Roberts ‘Watson Ranch’ Chardonnay

VIN93 The 2017 Chardonnay Watson Ranch is a gorgeous wine. Apricot, chamomile, dried flowers, sage and dried pear are all laced together in this super-expressive, inviting Chardonnay. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2017, as it is quite closed today. Bright saline notes add freshness and zip to this super-expressive Chardonnay.

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 on marine deposits over limestone. This soil type is extremely rare on the North Coast and is coupled with organic farming techniques, giving this parcel great potential to produce Chardonnay of singular character, structure and nuance. Vinification: Whole cluster pressed to stainless steel for native primary fermentation at ambient temperature. No heating or cooling applied. Full malolactic. Aging: 7 months in neutral French oak