Arnot-Roberts Cabernet Sauvignon Montecillo 2022

Arnot-Roberts Montecillo Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County, Moon Mountain District 2022

97 points
Tasted by: Clive Pursehouse (at Seattle, Washington, 31 Dec 2024) Part of Montecillo Vineyard: Mountain magic in Sonoma Drinking Window: 2024 - 2040 This glorious mountain wine comes from old, dry-farmed Cabernet planted on its roots in 1967. With a beautiful ruby hue and a diminutive 12%abv, this Mountain Cabernet is pure and brisk, with wild alpine herbs, eucalyptus, chopped mint, evergreen tips evocative of the deep forest and piquant notes of salted blood orange. The palate of this youthful Cabernet is effusive, with bramble fruits and a feral elegance marked by anise, chicory root tart red currant and streaks of minerality marked by graphite and smoked sea salt—a soaring example of what is possible from modern Cabernet Sauvignon, purity, light and fresh.

96 points

Tasted by: Ana Carolina Quintela (at Arnot-Roberts, Healdsburg, California, 29 Jan 2025) Drinking Window: 2025 - 2035 This Cabernet Sauvignon is light and fresh—not what you'd usually expect from this variety. Coming from vines planted in 1969 and dryfarmed above the fog line in the Montecillo vineyard, it showcases a herbal quality with notes of fresh mint and eucalyptus, along with a distinctive saline character. On the mid-palate, the wine reminds you of a bite of a salty slice of a lean salami, delivering a pleasing balance of salt, pepper, and spices. Picked right before the heat spikes during Labor Day in 2022, it leans toward crunchy red fruits like cherries, bramble berries, and tart pomegranate rather than the heavier black fruit flavours typically found in Cabernets. This restrained, pleasantly 'low-alcohol' Cabernet finishes with an iron minerality touch accentuated by its bone-dry acidity. It's an elegant wine with a promising future in the bottle.