Wine A Steal of a Deal

wine-a-steal-of-a-deal Sensual Liquid from Anderson Valley
Navarro Vineyards
“Method of Ancienne”
1999 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

Travel north up the California Coast, past Sonoma, up into Mendocino’s western regions and you bump right into Anderson Valley. O.K. you don’t bump into it, you are in it. I just had a friend come back from Navarro Vineyards in Anderson Valley and he brought me back my new favorite $20 Pinot Noir. He just threw it my way to get me off his back so I would stop asking questions about his visit and requesting to see pictures. (Living on the East Coast is sometimes tough on me.) Well it did the trick;

I took the bottle and ran home for my opener. Lucky me. I admit that I have been focusing on the Willamette Valley for Pinot’s in recent months, but this gift was a grand awakening to the wines of Navarro Vineyards. I had one of their whites a long time ago (I don’t remember much) but now find myself on their Pinot bandwagon.

This ’99 “Method of Ancienne” from Anderson Valley is straight-up choice juice. No two ways about it. It has a medium garnet color in the glass with nice clarity and aromas of warm candied apple, sautéed and ripe cherries rolled into one. It was full of life and secondary aromas of roses and cinnamon also came my way as I tried to get all I could out of it.

This Pinot is a mouth-filler offering up cherry, strawberry and buttery cranberry preserve flavors all spread out in a soft velvety body that glides down your throat easily. Beautiful berries with some sweetness of fruit, leather and a complex touch of herb and dill at the end. A sincere classic. I don’t know why they are selling it for $19, I have seen the prices on previous vintages and they were all higher. Maybe they are looking out for us drinkers and feel we need a break from the “pocket gougers”. Whatever the deal is, it works for me.

The wine finishes on a consistent note and gently and smoothly fades away leaving you ready for another sip, another bottle or maybe even another case. The tannins are mild, the acids are balanced with the forward fruit and the complexity is satisfying. You can tell I really liked this wine, and I think you will too.The wine shop on the site has this Pinot listed at $19, it is a steal folks. 4600 cases were produced so there may be enough for some of you. Price is great, juice is even better.

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