2014 Arnot-Roberts, Rose of Touriga Nacional, Luchsinger Vineyard, Clear Lake.
The latest version of Arnot-Roberts’ Rose is driving with energy and depth of flavor, it highlights the vintage and style perfectly with shear acidity, spicy mineral and a mouth filling presence. This impressive Rose has pink and red citrus, spice box and juicy melon notes to lead and intrigues with sour cherry, hints of strawberry, watermelon, red peach and grapefruit fruits, along with flinty/pepper spice, steely mineral and river stones. The bright intensity is balanced by textural silkiness as the wine hits mid palate and flavors expand, but finishing refreshingly brisk with a cool crispness, this is wonderful and exciting Rose, something we’ve come to expect of Duncan Meyers, as all of his Arnot-Roberts wines in recent vintages have shown. I am particularly fond of this Rose and his Syrah offerings, but the Trout Gulch Chardonnay and his set of Pinot Noir(s) are lovely and entertaining wines as well, if you’d not tried the Arnot-Robert wines yet, you need to and soon, these are super and classy wines with great style and quality. The Rose is very limited and unique coming off the Clear Lake Luchsinger Vineyard and being from the rare Touriga Nacional grape (most common to Portugal), almost never seen in California, let alone in a dry Rose, in recent years this pink wine has even lured me away from Tempier’s Bandol Rose! Drink this over the coming warm season and into the Fall of 2015.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive