Navarro Vineyards - 2018 Rosé

2018 Rosé
Mendocino (Dry)
93% Grenache, 7% Carignane
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Keep on truckin’

This is our 16th harvest from Debbie Pallini's Grenache vineyard. The first rosé we produced from her vineyard was in 2002; in our Summer 2003 newsletter we described her property as an “ancient, head-trained Grenache vineyard.” With the addition of 16 more years, the vines are ultra-ancient and to quote Robert Crumb, these amazing vines “keep on truckin'.” Navarro's early rosés included Debbie's Grenache, Al Tollini's Grenache and Carignane as well as grapes from two other Grenache vineyards. As a result of the wine's consistent high quality, Debbie's Grenache quickly became the base wine for Navarro's rosé program.

Rose wine being filled in the winery on a rotating platform.

Rosé being bottled. The empty bottles on the far right have just been cleaned—you can see empty bottles on the vertically rotating sparger—and before wine is added, the bottles are filled with an inert gas which protects the wine from oxygen. The rotating filler has 18 spouts and by the time the bottle has returned to the initial position, full of wine, it is removed, corked and replaced on the filler with an empty bottle.

Jim talking to Ed Pallini with his daughter Debbie's Grenache vineyard in the background.

Jim, Navarro's winemaker, and Ed Pallini, grape grower, in conversation in Ed's daughter's vineyard.

By 2014, we began limiting the Grenache-based rosé program to old vines farmed by two growers: Debbie's ancient Grenache vines and Al's Grenache and Carignane vines, which were actually planted four years earlier than Debbie's. In this 2018 bottling, Debbie's grapes account for 64% of the final cuvée and the balance is from Al's vines. After harvesting Al's Carignane and Grenache grapes, we co-fermented the two varieties as a single lot, adding a new twist to tradition in 2018. We aged this co-fermented wine, alongside Debbie's Grenache, in seasoned French oak barrels for four months. In co-fermentation studies, co-winemaking wines presented a more complex chemical profile than mono-varietal wines. You decide. The wine displays flavors of strawberry and melon wrapped in piquant acidity. Gold Medal winner.

Specifications

Harvested: Oct. 2 to 16, 2018
Sugars at harvest: 23.0° Brix
Bottled: February 25, 2019
Cases produced: 575
Alcohol: 12.8%
Titratable acidity: 6.0 g/L
pH: 3.24

2016 Rosé

This is an excellent rosé with some red-wine character showing through the palesalmon color and fresh fruitiness. It has slightly meaty, spicy and cherry-like flavors, a good balance between medium body and firm acidity, and a nice tangy finish. -Jim Gordon, Wine Enthusiast, November1, 2016

2015 Rosé

Medium-light pinkish salmon color; attractive, fragrant, floral, strawberry and white peach aroma; medium body; crisp, strawberry fruit flavors with a touch of citrus, mineral notes, and a slight plushness in the mouthfeel; lingering aftertaste. A very appealing Summer time wine. Very highly recommended. California Grape Vine, May, 2016.

The 2015 Rosé($17.50) is 80 percent granache and 20 percent carignan, with classic rosé qualities of minerality and dry berry fruit.- Anne Valdespino, The Orange County7 Register, April 5, 2016

2014 Rosé

This pale pink wine is a blend of 83% Grenache, 17% Carignan and displays a dramatic aroma of pure Grenache: wild cherries, hints of citrus, spices, and sour cherries. It is bone dry, loaded with flavor, and displays an angularity you usually see only in the wines of the south of France. A truly great wine that those who score wine by number would damn with faint praise. A great wine.Dan Berger , Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences, March, 2014.

2011 Rosé

Pale; strawberry and subtle spice.- Dan Berger, Critic's Challenge Wine Competition, 2012

pretty, spicy; imagine sitting on terrace table at lunch and sipping this -- Elin McCoy, Critic's Challenge Wine Competition, 2012

2008 Rosé

Offers fresh raspberry and vanilla aromas and soft cherry and spice flavors. Grenache and Cargnane. Drink now.Tim Fish , WineSpectator.com. , Online Only.

2007 Rosé

A deli¬cate but lovely rose, with a pretty pink hue and cherry blossom aromas accented by strawberry and spice and crisp but supple smoky flavors. Grenache and Carignane. Drink now. 1,305 cases made.— Tim Fish , Wine Spectator, September 30, 2008.

Exceptional 2007 Navarro Rosé, Mendocino ($16.50): Superb aroma of spice and maraschino cherry; dry, yet not austere. Mostly Grenache wit ha bit of Syrah - Dan Berger , Tasting Notes, May 22, 2008.

2003 Rosé

The 2003 Rose, made primarily from Grenache, with small amounts of Carignan and Syrah, is just perfect for a warm day, and again this is just off dry, with beguiling and smoky fruit. - Leonard Maran, San Francisco Spectrum, July 2004.

2002 Rosé

This great wine kind of sneaks up on you. First you think it’s a modest blush wine, but it’s awfully hard not to take another sip. Then you realize how good it is. Raspberries, vanilla and cinnamon, and bone dry. Made from Grenache and Syrah. Another super value from Navarro. - Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast, March, 2004.

A light, floral rosé, this tastes like a good rosado from Navarra, even if it is grown by Navarro nowhere near Spain. This wine has a firm acid profile and a mineral bite, finishing clean. Chill it for grilled baby lamb chops and roasted tomatoes. - Wine & Spirits, "American New Releases," December, 2003.

Exceptional. Dramatic aroma of raspberry/strawberry with a bit of cherry for depth. Dry, but with enough alcohol (13.5%) to add texture; no phenolic bite. One of the finest rosés I have ever tasted. Drink with anything or all by itself. - Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences, July 3, 2003.