I decided to drive down the 225 miles from my home in Trinidad, CA to Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley and spend a few days there tasting wines and visiting wineries. After checking threads on wine boards and my recollections of my last visit to the Anderson Valley some 20 years ago, I ventured down and spent three days there.
As a German riesling collector I was interested in trying the rieslings of the Anderson Valley which is a cool, fog influenced northern California region which grows riesling, gewurtztraminer, pinot noir, and chardonnay in the valley.
After setting up in a cabin at Hendy Woods State Park, a California state park known for its redwood groves on the bank of the Navarro river, I went to visit Navarro Vineyards.
Navarro has been growing grapes in the Anderson Valley since 1973. The 1000 acre ranch has 90 to 95 acres planted in vines both on the valley floor and up into the hill surrounding it. The winery practices sustainable agriculture, avoiding insecticides and herbicides, planting cover crops between the vine rows and using animals like “baby doll” sheep, chickens and geese in the vineyards to keep insects and vines at bay, and for fertilization.
A tour was about to begin when I arrived, and I took part. They were in the middle of their crush and zinfandel wa being worked with at the time of my visit. We tried freshly pressed juices of various types, partially fermented juices, toured the barrel rooms, and even got to punch down the bins of pinot noir destined for this years cuvee of the Method a l’ Ancienne pinot.
The vineyards were showing the effects of a very early deep frost of Oct. 12. It was easy to observe where the frost settled and how the higher elevation vineyards were much less affected by the freeze. The leaves on the lower elevation plants were grayed out, or brown and dead. I don’t know whether the grapes had still been hanging when the frost hit this primarily pinot noir vineyard.
Wine tasting notes: I am including notes on only the wines I found interesting and enjoyable. These are current releases and prices are for 750 ml bottles.
2006 Chardonnay Anderson Valley, $24. A barrel aged wine with a deep pear like nose, a bit of toasty oak infusion, it had good pear and green apple flavors and was tasty and well done.
2006 Gewurtztraminer Estate, $19. A dry, floral, lovely nose with nice spicy flavors. Good.
2006 White Riesling Cluster Select Late Harvest, $29/375 ml. A very sweet riesling with intense flavors and good acidity. Sharply delineated and precise, I thought it very good. I brought a half bottle of 1998 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese goldcap with me to the winery to share with the staff, and we opened it at this point. The tasting was quite instructive in the differences in the winemaking style and the terroir of the vineyards. It seemed clear to me that the wines are produced quite differently. The Navarro wine was quite open and direct. Drinking a 2006 Prum goldcap at this point would expose oneself to that classic sulfur aroma of reductive winemaking. The flavors of the Navarro wine were clean, sharp, and delicious, but without quite as much acidity or subtlety of the Prum. The 1998 Prum has years to go. Its nose on opening filled the area with that diesel/petrol aroma so characteristic of many rieslings, and underneath was a beautiful honeyed fruit with a weightless intensity I have found only in the Mosel. I purchased some of the Navarro wine to lay down, and will look forward to a comparison in 10 years or so.
2006 Pinot Noir Mendocino, $19, made from Anderson Valley fruit, this was a lovely clear lighter red color with a cherry and rose petal nose, with dark cherry flavors and subtle tannin. Quite a nice wine and very good qpr.
2006 Pinot Noir Methode a l’ Ancienne, (I missed the price). Quite similar to the 06 Mendo pinot it has a touch darker fruit than the Mendo bottling. Quite a nice wine.
Dinner on the first evening was at Libby’s in Philo for delicious Mexican food. The combo plate of chile relleno and chicken enchilada was excellent and the salsa fresca with the chips was delicious.
On my second day in the valley I had breakfast at the Mosswood Market in Boonville which had excellent pastries and coffee. It has a soothing color scheme, nice artwork on the walls, newspapers available, and was a pleasant place to be.
I picked up a deli sandwich from the Anderson Valley Market and Deli in Boonville which was quite yummy and inexpensive.
Esterlina
On the second day in the valley I visited the Esterlina winery (open by appointment at 707 895-2920) which I had previously scheduled for 11 am. The vineyards and tasting room are located 2.2 miles up a graded dirt road which winds into the hills above the valley floor. Both the view and the wines were spectacular. I was the only visitor at the time, was cheerfully hosted by Patty, who talked to me about the vineyard’s 50 year history and the current owners. Murio Sterling and his sons own this and other nearby vineyards (including the Cole Ranch vineyard which is California’s smallest viticultural area). I believe that this mountain top vineyard was once known as the Pepperwood Springs Vineyard. Winemaking is done at the Everett Ridge Winery, also owned by the Sterling’s in the Russian River.
2006 Chardonnay (Russian River), $24, featured lovely green apple aromas, with a clear light green color, lovely light apple flavors and aftertaste. A very tasty wine, and very good.
2007 Dry Riesling (Cole Ranch), $19 1% RS which was not detectable by me. A really lovely floral nose, with apples and flowers, it was dry, with clean flavors and would be an excellent food wine with its excellent acidity. A very good wine which I purchased.
2007 Off dry Riesling (Cole Ranch), $19 1.7% RS. This wine had a rounder mouthfeel than the prior wine, but not quite as floral a nose, nor as pronounced flavors. Good, but I much preferred the dry style despite the fact of my usual preference for more RS.
2006 Pinot Noir Esterlina Estate, $45. This was by far the best wine of the trip. It is a fabulous wine to my taste with a beautiful deep red color with great clarity, a lovely deep cherry and cranberry nose, with matching flavors, excellent acidity, fine slightly drying tannins, extremely well balanced, and with a sour cherry aftertaste with some underlying oak in the background. Extraordinary wine and a purchase by me. 14.3% alcohol (not at all noticeable).
2006 Pinot Noir Esterlina Estate Riserva “Seven”, $77 Beautiful deep dark red color, it has slightly deeper dark cherry aromas, a hint of that “Ludens cough drop” aroma as well, with deep dark cherry flavors, then heavy toast flavors from the oak. This is a very good wine, and I definitely preferred the regular bottling, but I could see how some people would prefer this bigger rendition.
It is well worth the effort and time to visit this winery. It was the real find of the trip for me.
Greenwood Ridge
Later in the afternoon I visited the Greenwood Ridge tasting room. I enjoyed the visit with Chris the serving guy, and enjoyed the wines and information. He showed me the book “Alligator Dreams” by Richard Paul Hinkle which is the story of the Greenwood Ridge Vineyards which has some interesting info in it about the Mendocino Ridge AVA which is a non-contiguous AVA in the coastal hills between Gualala in the south and Elk in the north and bounded by hwy 128 which runs from Cloverdale through the Anderson Valley and on to the coast near Mendocino. Turns out that only vineyards above a certain height above sea level can use the Mendocino Ridge AVA. They basically have to be above the fog line.
2006 Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge Estate, $27, is a wine with a light attractive red cherry nose, good cherry fruit, and some supporting tannin. Good.
2006 Mendovino Red Table Wine, $20, 20% Zin, 80% Merlot, screwcap. A rich wine, with a sweet cherry complex nose and good acidity. Delicious, and a buy for me.
2006 Late Harvest White Riesling, $25/375 ml, 18% RS, deeply orange nose with pineapple, botrytised honey flavors. Could use a touch more acidity, but quite good, and a buy for me.
Goldeneye
Goldeneye Vineyards is the pinot noir project of Duckhorn in the Anderson Valley. They have several vineyards up and down the valley, and are building a new winery at their Gowan Creek Vineyard site. I called to schedule a vineyard tour of the Confluence Vineyard and to participate in a barrel tasting, but as luck would have it, they weren’t doing the barrel tasting on my final day in the valley. I did go to the vineyard tour which included a short discussion with the assistant winemaker, and a tasting of the four pinot noirs available. All the wines are well made and elegant.
2006 Migration Pinot Noir Anderson Valley, $32, is a very good wine with cherry and sour cherry flavors a hint of eucalyptus or pennyroyal, bright acidity, and fine grain tannins. Quite nice.
2005 Goldeneye Pinot Noir Anderson Valley, $55, Deep bing cherry aromas, a hint of cola in the nose then hints of deeper cherry notes and a hit of vanilla oak. It has a well integrated oak component, medium toasty. Medium weight with vanilla oak and dark cherries on the palate, it is a good wine.
2005 Goldeneye Confluence Vineyard Pinot Noir, $75. The first of the vineyard designated wines I tried, this was a step up from the previous wine. All the wines have deep dark red colors, a bright and clear. This wine has a nice combination of cherry and vanilla on the nose, a full mouthfeel, velvety fruit with some fine grain and slightly drying tannins, cherry cola flavors, and a long, persistent finish. I’d give it a year or so to mellow out. Very good.
2005 Goldeneye Gowan Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, $75. A deeper, darker wine all around than the Confluence vineyard bottling, this featured cherry, vanilla, earthy tones, and blackberry/blueberry flavors with persistent oak and brushy earth flavors in the end. Good fine tannins, the wine is elegant, deep, and flavorful. My favorite of the four, and I would have bought some, but they were sold out except for magnums and 3L sizes.
There are many, many wineries open for tasting and tours in the Valley. It is well worth the time and effort to visit. To paraphrase my Governator, “I’ll be back.” Jim