2019 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Sonoma Coast 750 ml

“One of California’s most influential wineries…” 

So began Decanter’s 15-page rave on Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts’ “pure and seemingly effortless lineup.” It’s a range crowned at the very top by their Syrah, “a cornerstone of the Arnot-Roberts label.” 

It’s rare to find Syrah at once so intense and so elegant. In fact, it’s rare to find the tiny-production and immensely popular Arnot-Roberts Sonoma Coast Syrah at all. Produced from four windswept sites mere miles from the Pacific Ocean, it’s as deep as it is fresh, and it’s sought out by top sommeliers across the country as the pinnacle of refined American Syrah. And Cabernet lovers, this should absolutely be on your radar as well. 

Vinous called the 2018 “just tremendous,” “a racy, super expressive Syrah that hits all the right notes.” The newly-released 2019 sings that same enthralling song, offering up profound dark fruit laced with violet, cracked pepper, and crushed granite. A head-turning energy carries it from start to lingering finish. 

Arnot-Roberts has earned innumerable plaudits for revolutionizing what’s possible with California terroir: The New York Times has recommended the label’s “superb wines of balance and restraint” on numerous occasions, the Wall Street Journal has hailed its winemakers as “Napa's Retro Dudes,” and the San Francisco Chronicle crowned them “Winemakers of the Year,” for redefining California's new era of wine.

Childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts began their wine journey in 2001, when they made a few cases of old-vine Zinfandel in a basement. With their similar athletic builds and closely shaved heads, Meyers and Roberts can be hard to tell apart. Their terroir-driven bottlings, however, are unmistakably distinct, and over the last two decades, they’ve become symbols of modern California winemaking.

Duncan and Nathan’s focus on site transparency and low intervention is on full display in the pristine 2019 Sonoma Coast Syrah. Grapes from the Solas Vineyard—one of the oldest Syrah plantings in the Sonoma Coast AVA—form the backbone of the regal 2019, while midnight-black berries from Baker Lane Vineyard contribute incredible concentration and deep color. 

The fireworks reach a climax with the third and fourth sources, the Que Vineyard and Clary Ranch, two sites whose full-throttle coastal fruit is featured in two of Duncan and Nathan’s bottlings—which happen to be two the most coveted single-vineyard Syrahs in all of California. Their 2018 Que Vineyard Syrah earned 98 points from Vinous, while the Clary Vineyard bottling pulled down 96. Both sport price tags over $60. 

With all the richness and complexity of its single-vineyard brethren, the 2019 Sonoma Coast Syrah is a steal for a benchmark American Syrah. Wherever we see its minimalist label, we feel at ease—a sure sign of a wine bar or restaurant’s quality and taste. The same can be said for a dinner table.