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.

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