San Francisco Wine Trading Wine Tasting

2024 Arnot-Roberts Watson Ranch Chardonnay — $37.94

Childhood friends Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts founded Arnot-Roberts in 2001, building their work around distinctive vineyards throughout California. Watson Ranch sits on a steep hillside overlooking San Pablo Bay at the southern end of Napa Valley. Planted in 1993, the vineyard is exposed to persistent wind and the cooling influence of the bay.

The vines are farmed organically in calcareous clay over limestone, an unusual soil combination in Northern California. An abandoned limestone quarry beside the property offers a glimpse into the geology beneath the vineyard. Fermentation begins with native yeasts in stainless steel, followed by aging in neutral French oak barrels.

2024 Gilbert Picq Chablis — $37.94

The Picq family has farmed vineyards around Chichée, a small village upstream from Chablis along the Serein River, for generations. Gilbert’s children share the work: Pascal manages the vineyards, Didier oversees the cellar, and Marilyn handles the business. Their approach begins with careful pruning and repeated work through the growing season to control yields and maintain the health of the vines.

Made entirely from Chardonnay, this village Chablis comes from the limestone-rich hills surrounding the family’s home. Fermentation takes place with native yeasts, and the wine remains in stainless steel through malolactic fermentation and aging. The cellar follows a consistent, uncomplicated approach, with no oak, no fining, and only a light filtration before bottling.

2024 Ceritas Costalina Pinot Noir — $49.94

Ceritas brings together John Raytek’s winemaking experience and Phoebe Bass’s lifelong connection to farming on the Sonoma Coast. Phoebe grew up at Porter-Bass Vineyard, where her family restored an old property surrounded by redwood forest. That relationship between people and vineyard remains central to their work, with close attention to the individual sites they farm and source.

Costalina brings together Pinot Noir from vineyards across the western Sonoma Coast, offering a broader view of the region within a single bottling. The grapes are grown using organic practices and harvested by hand. Fermentation incorporates approximately twenty percent whole clusters, and the wine spends sixteen months on its lees in neutral oak, completing malolactic fermentation during its time in the cellar.

2023 Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Rouge — $44.94

Based in Volnay, the de Montille family has a long history in Burgundy, with Étienne continuing the work established by his father, Hubert. Farming has been organic since 1995 and biodynamic since 2005. Those practices extend throughout the estate, including the parcels that supply this regional Pinot Noir.

The Bourgogne Rouge comes from Les Longbois in Volnay alongside vineyards in Puligny-Montrachet. For the 2023 vintage, approximately one-third of the fruit was fermented as whole bunches, with the oldest vines supplying the portion kept entirely on its stems. Aging takes place in oak barrels, with only a small proportion of new wood. The wine receives the same attention to farming and fermentation that guides the family’s village and premier cru bottlings.

2022 Teeter Totter Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon — $59.94

Teeter Totter is the work of Benoît Touquette, a French-born winemaker whose path led from Lyon to studies in chemistry and enology at the University of Bordeaux, then to California. The project draws on his experience working with Napa Valley vineyards and his interest in making carefully produced wines available to a wider audience.

The 2022 comes from vineyards in Rutherford and Calistoga. Cabernet Sauvignon makes up eighty-five percent of the blend, joined by equal parts Charbono, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. That combination brings several varieties with deep roots in California winegrowing into a Cabernet-led bottling. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, approximately sixty-five percent of them new.

2009 Château Desmirail — $64.94

Château Desmirail is a Third Growth of the 1855 classification, located in Bordeaux’s Margaux appellation. Its vineyards grow on deep gravel soils that drain readily and retain warmth, helping Cabernet Sauvignon ripen through the autumn. Denis Lurton took over from his father in 1992, overseeing the property during the production of this vintage.

The 2009 blends seventy percent Cabernet Sauvignon with thirty percent Merlot. Harvest stretched from September 24 through October 15, with picking tailored to the progress of each parcel. Merlot came in first, while Cabernet Sauvignon remained on the vines into October under favorable autumn conditions. The parcels were vinified separately in wooden and stainless steel vats before selection, blending, and barrel aging. Bottling took place in June 2011.