Since the 1994 vintage, the best part of Navarro's Pinot Noir has been pre-sold a year before release. We call our favorite Pinot Noir the Deep End, which is an old Boontling term for the chilly, northwestern edge of the Anderson Valley where the grapes, cooled by ocean breezes, mature slowly and ripen late. This wine is a blend of our best lots from our best Deep End vineyards aged in our best French oak barrels so it is a special wine that we can only produce in a limited quantity. We will cellar the 2023 Deep End Pinot Noir another six months in French oak barrels, then bottle it unfiltered to preserve its full potential.

Our younger winemaking friends have a different take than us on the 2023 vintage. They keep harping on how late the harvest was, with the last loads of Pinot being picked the third week of October, and how a few pesky showers raised concern for potential rot. We’ve been making wine in Anderson Valley since 1975 and this longstanding experience has undoubtedly shaped our perspective on grape growing. For us, October harvests in Anderson Valley are par for the course and hanging fruit on cool days is perfect for developing flavor and retaining acidity. We were able to layer our 2023 Deep End Pinot Noir with fruit from five distinctive blocks each featuring a unique combination of clone, rootstock or trellis.

Tasting a barrel sample before a wine is packaged and bottle-aged requires skill and imagination. It takes experience to predict how a wine will taste a year down the road. Navarro's Pre-Release members have practiced the art of barrel sampling Navarro Pinot Noir since the 1994 vintage at the August Futures Offering and Barrel Tasting and they end up ordering the lion's share.