Arnot-Roberts Gamay El Dorado 2023

Arnot-Roberts was set up in 2001 by Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts, who seek out cool, distinctive vineyards farmed by environmentally minded growers across Northern California. This wine is Gamay, the grape of Beaujolais, grown in El Dorado in the Sierra Foothills, where altitude and decomposed granite soils give freshness and lift. The fruit is farmed organically and picked to keep alcohol modest at 12.5%, preserving acidity and the variety's bright red-fruited character. Ageing is ten months in used French oak, which softens the wine and adds a little breadth without overt oak flavour. Gamay is light in tannin and high in aromatic red fruit, and the gentle winemaking lets the site speak. The wine is bright ruby. The nose shows fresh raspberry, red cherry and plum with spice, crushed stone and an earthy undertone. The palate is light to medium bodied, juicy and fresh, with crunchy acidity, gentle tannin and a peppery, mineral close. Serve lightly chilled, around 13 to 14 degrees. It is a flexible food red, good with roast pork, charcuterie, roast chicken and mushroom dishes.