• 2019 Chardonnay
    Mendocino
    • (750 ml) Sold Out!
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Marriage of equals Recent Press

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.



Sarah slowly dumping 2020 grapes into a hopper (above). The hopper feeds the grapes at a steady rate into a destemmer beneath it where the grapes are separated from the stems. Alfredo and Dan are connecting the destemmer on the left to the press on the right (left). The hose's diameter is generous since we are pumping juice, skins and seeds. Juice drips from the press into the tray below (below). The slots in the press's cage allow juice to flow through but not seeds or skins. When the press is full, a large “air bag” inside the press is inflated, pushing the juice out through the slots.

In this vintage we added a few barrels of Anderson Valley barrel-fermented wine—the same as in the Première Reserve—to add roundness to the final cuvée. Fruity pear-lemon-apple flavors with accents of oak, toast and butter. Gold Medal winner.


Specifications
  • Harvested: Sept. 10 to Oct. 5, 2019
  • Sugars at harvest: 23.0° Brix
  • Bottled: June 19 & 20, 2020
  • Cases produced: 2,628
  • Alcohol: 12.8%
  • Titratable acidity: 6.7 g/L
  • pH: 3.32