When we are inspecting other vineyards, we seem to encounter two main types of growers: those whose business is primarily growing grapes for resale and those who have been, or are currently, winemakers. The grapes for Navarro's Mourvèdre come from Dark Horse Vineyards, owed by the Dolan family, who also operate their own winery. We love dealing with the family; when we visit there is little we can suggest to improve their vineyard techniques. Their winemaking orientation leads them to many of the same viticultural regimes that we employ at Navarro: shoot thinning and positioning in the spring, followed by crop thinning in late summer to match each vine's crop load to the vine's vigor in order to ensure that the fruit harvested is consistently ripe from vine to vine. The Mourvèdre vineyard is tiny and in 2015 only produced enough grapes for three barrels of wine. This bottling is eighty-seven percent Mourvèdre with the balance comprised of equal amounts of Dark Horse Syrah and Grenache. Gold Medal winner.