We've been working through some more Navarro wines recently purchased. Last night, with a light dinner of sausage, cheese and salad, we had:
2005 Navarro Mendocino Pinot Noir ($16) nose: bright, dark berry fruit, minerality palate: light body, good acidity, fresh fruit flavors, mineralsThis is their lighter bottling, not their Methode a L'Ancienne. Had I not known what I had, I would have guessed a 2005 Cru Beaujolais from Morgon or M-a-V -- and I mean no disrespect by that! It had a lot of gamay character in the nose and didn't scream Pinot Noir in the mouth, either. It became a little more Pinotish wine time but still was cast in a lighter, food-friendly mold. We'll see what it turns into in a day or two.
Tonight, Jean needed a white wine to avoid histamine-induced discomfort, so with some cheese tortellini tossed with pesto, we opened:
2005 Navarro Dry White Muscat ($15) nose: floral, citrusy palate: light body, good acidity, minerals, grapefruit and flowersAm I just getting my wires crossed? Had I not known what was in *this* bottle, I would have guessed a lighter Gewurztraminer a la Trimbach. It didn't have the characteristic Muscat floral notes, but instead a different aromatic quality that put me in mind of Gewurztraminer. Very good balance, bone dry and quite nice with the food.
It's very refreshing to find wines like these still coming from California, because they are lively, filled with character, good values and excellent accompaniments to food. Now, if only they were more widely distributed...
Mark Lipton