• 2019/2020 Navarro BrutNew!
    59% Pinot Noir, 41% Chardonnay
    Anderson Valley, Mendocino
    • (750 ml) $35.00
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Smooth and glossy

Italy's lesser-known yet highly respected sparkling wines hail from the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. Made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, these wines are bottle-fermented and typically dry. Some are crafted with less pressure, resulting in a creamier texture and fewer obvious bubbles, with the most famous example being Franciacorta's Satèn. The name Satèn, derived from the French word for satin, highlights the wine's fine bubbles and creamy texture. In the 1990s, these wines were labeled as Crémant, but due to their dry nature, akin to Brut, they were rebranded as Satèn. Navarro's "satin" bubbles are made from a combination of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from two different years. The 2019 portion is 76% Pinot Noir and 24% Chardonnay cool-fermented in stainless steel then aged in neutral French oak casks for 19 months, adding a satisfying roundness to the cuvée. The 2020 blend consists of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir, which was also cool-fermented in stainless steel, then aged in seasoned French oak for seven months.

[above] To provide the dosage that replaces the frozen yeast plug created at disgorging, we opened about 70 bottles of the same sparkling wine so that the final wine would be exactly as originally intended.

This 2020 part (54%) was combined with the 2019 wine (46%) prior to bottling. The final product was then aged in the bottle for 35 months, resulting in a wine that is dry like a Brut but has the delicate bubbles of a Crémant.


[above] Stacking newly bottled Brut into an open-sided bin. Once the bin is full, the fourth side is installed to keep the bottles secure. The wine will lie here sur latte for 35 months before riddling, disgorging and bottling with a cork and wire hood.

Specifications
  • Harvested: Aug. 22, 2019 & Sept. 1, 2020
  • Sugars at harvest: 19.3° Brix
  • Bottled: June 24, 2021
  • Cases disgorged: 751
  • Disgorged: May 1, 2024
  • Alcohol: 12.1%
  • Titratable acidity: 8.5 g/L
  • pH: 2.98