In September 2024, we produced six lots of rosé, each one cool fermented in stainless steel to retain fruitiness. The wines were then transferred to seasoned French oak barrels to complete fermentation, age and develop greater complexity. By late December natural clarification had occurred, so Jim, Navarro's winemaker, prepared our first tasting. This initial evaluation included five Pinot Noir wines and one Sangiovese. We methodically evaluated each lot's strengths and weaknesses to guide our final blending decisions. Three of the five Pinot Noir wines stood out, especially a Blanc de Noir from our favorite rosé block—Hammer Olsen Chalone. In our second tasting, in January, we decided to combine the three exceptional Pinot lots and use them as the base wine, adding various amounts of the fourth-ranked Pinot lot from December. The results were unanimous. The base wine was the clear winner and any addition of the fourth wine made the cuvée coarser and less refined.

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