2015arnotrobertstrousseau2015 Arnot-Roberts, Trousseau, North Coast.
The hauntingly pale and delicate 2015 Arnot-Roberts Trousseau looks more rose than red, but is full of flavor and depth with finesse and lingering intensity. Because of a disastrous fruit set for Trousseau in their new Sonoma Coast vineyards, the 2015 is all from their original plot at Luchsinger Vineyard in Lake County, this site with it’s iron rich volcanic soils and rocky terroir makes for a light colored red, with almost no pigment, but with lots of extract, and it’s totally unique in character with beautiful mouth feel and complexity, yet in a light format and low alcohol wine, this vintage is just about 12%, and the wine shows fine balance, satiny textures and vitality. Nathan Roberts and Duncan Meyers handcraft each wine, in this case they use native ferments and aged the Trousseau Noir in neutral oak, using as the label says, 1 Foudre, 5 Puncheons and 6 Barrels. The results are a light red with tree picked cherry, wild strawberry and tart plum fruits with hints of mineral, fennel, subtle earth and savory elements, finishing with a juicy spiced raspberry tea note. This is a ripe vintage and the fruit is quite forward and succulent, but you can still taste it’s historical connection to the old world wines of the Jura region in France in the background, it reminds me of the Jean-Francois Ganevat wines a lot, this is really fun stuff and it’s cult like following is justified. All of the Arnot-Roberts 2015 wines are worth searching out, and while there will be rush to grab every last bottle of this Trousseau, you should also look for their stunning set of Chardonnays, the new 2015 Trout Gulch in particular is gorgeous, as well is their deep and beautiful 2015 North Coast Syrah. Also it recent years they have made some impressive Pinot Noir, but their new 2015’s take it up a notch with exciting detailed fruit and Burgundy like silky/earthy layers. The new set of Arnot-Roberts wines are star quality, sadly hard to find, and this Trousseau 2015 is a thrill, drink it over the next 3 to 5 years.
($45 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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