North America | California | Navarro Vineyards | Sauvignon Blanc Mendocino

Sauvignon Blanc Mendocino

VARIETAL
Sauvignon Blanc

NOTES

VINEYARD: All of the Sauvignon Blanc grapes for Navarro's bottlings are grown in Boonville at the warmer end of Anderson Valley in coastal Mendocino. The soils in the rolling hills near Philo are typically two to three feet deep and have considerable organic matter with some clay and gravel. In comparison, 10 miles away in Boonville where the vineyards are sited on an ancient river bed, the soils are deep and so full of rocks and light on organic material that grapevine roots are forced to go deep for nutrients and water.

VINIFICATION: After digging 90 test pits to map out the soil variations, Navarro planted three different clones of Sauvignon Blanc in three separate blocks: two with a rootstock noted for its deep roots and the third with a rootstock recognized for producing fine wines that they've used successfully in Philo. Each block was fermented and aged separately and in most vintages the results are surprisingly different. When fully ripe, the fruit from the first two plantings are pale green with herbal flavors whereas the third planting's fruit is golden at harvest with a flavor profile resembling tropical fruit; a mixture of all three lots is a winner. The grapes were de-stemmed and the juice fermented in a combination of regimes; the major portion was fermented and aged sur lie in refrigerated ovals to produce a wine with a suave mouthfeel, while the balance was fermented in stainless steel casks which promotes bold herbaceous aromas of lime and gooseberry.
Babydoll sheep graze in the vineyards. When fully grown, the sheep are only two feet high at the shoulder; the high trellis installed in the vineyards allows the sheep to graze underneath the vines while preventing them from reaching the fruiting area. They love sweet vine shoots and when let into a vineyard, they immediately start eating the unwanted trunk suckers. One-year-olds love to climb, so they are kept out of the vineyards. By the time the sheep are two years old, they are so plump that they have difficulty lifting their front legs off the ground. 2027 cases produced.