A Navarro customer recently lent us an intriguing book entitled The Emperor of Scent. Author Chandler Burr interviewed perfumer Luca Turin who proclaimed, "For a perfumer there is no bad smell. All the great French perfumes, every last one, has some ingredient that is repulsive..." Mr. Turin goes on to complain that Americans have an obsession with cleanliness. Consequently American perfumes tend to be fresh, fruity and, well... rather dull. At Navarro we spend more time smelling wine than eau de toilette but we know what Mr. Turin is talking about. We think New World Gewürztraminers tend to be too clean and too sweet. Our favorite Gewürztraminers have a touch of "charcuterie," which is actually just a polite way of saying "dead yeast." As in Alsace, we ferment this wine in large oak ovals and let it rest on the lees, which are expired yeast, until we bottle seven months later but we've added a touch of Yankee ingenuity to the French tradition. We custom designed small stainless steel cooling panels for each oak oval since keeping fermenting wine cool also boosts aromatics.

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The aroma of dead yeast, by itself, may be unpleasant but mysteriously it enhances the alluring aromatics of Navarro's favorite grape. This bottling is our driest yet, with crisp quince, grapefruit and litchi flavors and aromas reminiscent of a summer picnic in the French countryside: sausage, pâté, warm bread, and ripe cheese. Gold Medal winner. Best of Show.

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