Insiders, gather up!

Most likely you’ve never heard of ARNS.

And most likely you’ve heard of Heitz Cellar and Chateau Montelena. Back in the 1970s, Sandi Belcher of Arns had a lot to do with the iconic wines made at these prestigious estates. With a UC Davis graduate degree in chemistry and agriculture, she found her calling on Pritchard Hill - joining Long Vineyards (now Gandona Estate), where she worked alongside another winemaking legend Zelma Long for 3 “long” decades.

Meanwhile, she and her vineyard manager husband John Arns quietly developed their own estate in the hills above St. Helena, just below Howell Mountain planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon. Before she launched her own label, regulars clamoring over the impeccable fruit grown on the 160 hillside acres included Dunn, Martin Ray, Burgess, and Merryvale.

In 1992, the same year as the first Screaming Eagle, she bottled and labeled the first Arns. They started with a few hundred cases, and rarely exceeded a thousand over the years, as they built a loyal following. The wines are snatched up by top restaurants around the world and their mailing list.

Fans of Arns don’t want more fans of Arns because there never is enough to go around! That’s why they love the totally under the radar (GLOWING) Reviews & Comments page on their website.

Imagine how much convincing it took to get this library gem out of their hands!

And we’ll say it, truly the best drinking 2011 Napa Cab you’ll ever have. It’s SILK. Flows like satin while velvety tannins catch up on the finish, this is a beacon of classicism, with sends to a bygone era of Napa Valley that emphasized complexity over intensity. Yes, it would pair with pretty much anything, however as a wine of contemplation, it’s best savored, slowly, sip by sip over time with friends and family who’d appreciate a decade of age and the wonders it did to this stunner.

There’s so little to go around that these rarely make it to the mainstream wine press. So, excuse the source’s obscurity, but this super independent review we spotted online is SPOT ON!

95 Points – Jeff Lawson (drinkthebottles.com)

“This is the first selection I’ve had the pleasure of tasting from Arns and I will say without a doubt that they have spoiled me. Sandi Belcher, winemaker for Arns, had a challenging year as did most in California for this vintage. But persistence pays off and it has paid off in a BIG way with this 100% varietal 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon! Bright garnet in the glass and solid to the rim, this wine is not a big fruit bomb and certainly doesn’t present itself as a wine of this age. This gorgeous Cabernet is more reminiscent of an old-world Bordeaux style, with muted fruit being replaced by rose petals, barn wood, ripening vegetables, and shoe leather. Instantly, you are transported to a place that is surrounded by people who don’t just pop and pour, but truly savor wines that are complex like this with chocolate bits, braised beef, crushed black cherries, and again with that beautiful, old-world style barn wood and damp earth. The finish isn’t exceptionally long, but it is satisfying, and you’ll be going back for seconds and thirds of this wine. The tannins are small and juicy, and this wine is absolutely perfect for drinking right now. I anticipate that it will continue to age gracefully for another 10 years. After this, I am super excited to taste the 2012 and 2013 vintages soon!”