Arnot Roberts Fellom Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (750ML)

Fellom Ranch sits on an exposed knoll at 2,200 feet on Montebello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains, 16 miles from the Pacific. Its Charles Krug-clone Cabernet Sauvignon, planted between 1980 and 1983 and cane-pruned, grows on steep terraces in lean Franciscan chert, sandy loam, clay and serpentine, which keep yields low and skins thick. Cold nights and ocean air lengthen the season, and 2023’s long, cool year lengthened it further. Arnot-Roberts fermented it with native yeasts and raised it in neutral French oak, leaving it at 13.5% alcohol. This is Cabernet in a restrained register: violet perfume, red berries, blood orange, mint, graphite and spice over very fine tannin, gaining depth with air. Critics expect it to come around from 2028. Try it with porcini tagliatelle, a dry-aged pork chop or roast pork belly.