Navarro Vineyards, Anderson Valley

Stretched along the Navarro River in western Mendocino County, the Anderson Valley has become one of the most exciting new appellations in California. Certainly, it contains beautiful vistas of steep rugged hills covered with pine and scrub. The Anderson is known for its Alsation-style wines but also for its Pinot Noirs.

And it offers two sparkling wine makers, too: top Champagne maker Roederer opened a winery here, as has Scharffenberger Cellars. More about Roederer later.

The wineries here are densely packed together - one after another, on both sides of Hwy 128. The only question is, which ones to try?

I had made an appointment at Navarro Vineyards, because they have both wines and juices on the menu at Millennium and Caroline had recommended them.

Navarro is one of the oldest wineries in the region, and offers both estate and non-estate wines. They have about 100 acres of vineyard, not nearly enough to supply their production.

According to Rose, the tasting room rep, Navarro uses egg whites in many of its wines; they aren't vegan.

Navarro also produces two varieties of juice, bottled just like wine. They include a Pinot Noir, which tastes a lot like regular grape juice, and a Gewurztraminer, which is absolutely beautiful. It has all of the floral and fruit character of the wine, but you can still drive afterward. We bought a couple of bottles to bring home.

Navarro Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Aromas of grapefruit, asparagus and minerals offer a lot of promise. It's very tart, with a clean finish and more of that grapefruit flavour.

Navarro Vineyards Pinot Gris 2006
Even more tart than the Sauv, this is steely with melon and green apple notes. It has a disappointing short finish.

Navarro Vineyards Gewurztraminer 2006
This is a dry Gewurztraminer, done right. The floral aromas, with honey and green apple lead into flavours of melon and pineapple. But it's honestly dry and very complex - lovely, and we bought some to take home.

Navarro Vineyards Muscat Blanc 2006
More honey, melon and floral aromas, this is dry, too. But I found some unwelcome bitterness on the long finish. It's good, but the Gewurz is better.

Navarro Vineyards White Riesling 2006
Classic Riesling nose: petroleum, steel, peach. It's there on the tongue, too, with the ripe peach and minerals coming through. This has a long grapefruit finish.

Navarro Vineyards Pinot Noir 2006
Beautiful aromas of sweet cherry and smoke, it's fruity on the palette, with just a hint of toast and vanilla on the finish.

Navarro Vineyards Zinfandel 2005
Sweet aromas of strawberry jam, plums and orange, but it's actually very dry, though the plums and strawberries extend into the long finish.

Navarro Vineyards Unfiltered Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2007
Not yet bottled, we were given a taste of this anyway. It had strawberry and red cherry notes, along with some orange and sweet spice. I found it too toasty on the finish, but some time in the bottle may help reduce that.

Navarro Vineyards Syrah 2005
Highly tannic and with a long finish, this has aromas of tobacco and dark red fruit.

Navarro Vineyards Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2006
Botrytis-affected and with 11% residual sugar, this dessert wine is very floral, with sweet spice, honey and orange notes.