This is the first vintage featuring estate-grown Anderson Valley Pinot Blanc incorporated into Navarro's bottling under the more expansive Mendocino appellation. The vigor of youthful vines, combined with Navarro's insistence on a low crop level—we thinned our vines to one cluster per shoot—sped up ripening. Estate-grown grapes were harvested on September 18 and the fruit grown in an inland climate was harvested three days later. The inland fruit, which theoretically should ripen earlier due to the warmer climate, measured 21.9° Brix with 8.4 g/L of acidity, while the riper Anderson Valley fruit measured 23.8° Brix with 6.8 g/L of acidity. The two lots were destemmed and the juices were fermented and aged as separate lots for four months in French oak ovals. The staff's first blind tasting determined the optimum ratio of the two lots; a subsequent tasting revealed that a seven-percent splash of Chardonnay filled out the mid-palate, completing the wine. Hints of mango and passionfruit lead to a mineral, crisp finish. Gold medal winner.