2021 Arnot-Roberts Watson Ranch Chardonnay, Napa Valley, USA

Winemaker Notes
Arnot-Roberts Watson Ranch Chardonnay is from one of the southernmost vineyards in Napa Valley AVA. The vines were planted in 1993 and dry farmed in clay over limestone with a view of San Pablo Bay. The grapes were whole cluster pressed, fermented in stainless steel by native yeasts, and the wine was aged in neutral French oak barrels.

Watson Ranch Vineyard is perched on a steep hillside overlooking the San Pablo Bay at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley. The ranch was named after early Napa attorney, Augustus Watson, who owned the property in the early 1900s. The adjacent property is an abandoned limestone quarry which historically employed over 300 people, mining material to make portland cement used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Exposed and unprotected from the elements, this wind-whipped site was planted in 1993 by the talented Napa Valley veteran grower Salvador Ramos. Soils at Watson Ranch are composed of calcareous clay over limestone. This soil type is extremely rare on the North Coast but shows itself in a narrow fin at the tail end of the Vaca Mountains in Southern Napa County. This fractured, well-drained calcareous soil, coupled with organic farming and cool windy conditions, imbue this parcel with great potential to produce world-class Chardonnay. The fruit we harvest each year from Watson is consistently textural and vibrant with underpinnings of ample natural acidity and salinity. In 2014 we planted 1.8 acres of a Loire valley clone of Cabernet Franc, which is well suited to the climate and soil of the site, adjacent to the Chardonnay.