Most of Navarro's wines are produced from estate-grown grapes augmented by our neighbor's
Anderson Valley grapes. In this
Mendocino bottling we took a different approach and married
Anderson Valley grapes with fruit from Mendocino's
Potter Valley. Since 1991, we have been intrigued by blending inland
Potter Valley Chardonnay, with its apple-melon flavors, to coastal
Anderson Valley Chardonnay, with its pear-citrus flavor profile. The complexity of the wine is enhanced by wedding the contrasting fruit flavor profiles; we've always aged this cuvée in seasoned barrels so the oak doesn't dominate. In this 2019 cuvée, 56% of the grapes are from
Potter Valley and 44% are from
Anderson Valley. The
Potter Valley portion was fermented in stainless steel and then aged
sur lie in seasoned 135-gallon puncheons; the
Anderson Valley portion was also fermented in stainless steel, then aged
sur lie in older 60-gallon oak barrels. We've found that in cool vintages, the
Anderson Valley wine—with its higher acidity—benefits from a malolactic fermentation which reduces acidity, while the
Potter Valley fruit is aged without a malolactic fermentation to retain all its fruitiness.