Arnot Roberts Gamay Noir Witters Vineyard El Dorado County 2020

100% Gamay. Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts, along with a small group of fellow trailblazers, have led the way in helping redefine what California wine can be and taste like. Their wines have a deep sense of terroir, refined and elegant structure, and are deliciously complex. In 2001, when they began this endeavor, finding local wines with these qualities was tough. But along with their aforementioned colleagues, they started a small revolution, and these days you can walk into many a wine shop and find an example of what’s been coined, “The New California Wine”. Since their founding in 2001, they’ve spent a lot of time scouring the state for some of the best previously unknown vineyard sites, doing so with a respect for the environment that is nothing short of remarkable. They work with all their growers to encourage organic farming and minimize their environmental impact: these are wines that are not only delicious but that you can feel good about drinking. At 3300 feet elevation, the Witters vineyard is one of the highest plantings in California. Inspired by a trip to Fleurie and Morgon in Beaujolais, the vineyard was planted to Gamay — unheard of in California at the time. The fruit reveals the promise of this unexpected terroir: bright acidity and spice-driven aromatics. Dense, lean, and exacting, this wine offers intense character. Arnot-Roberts are advocates for naturally produced wine and this wine shows that quintessential duality of purity and complexity.