Again we drink from our cellar, this time with a lovely Navarro Vineyards 2002 Pinot Noir. We chose it to go with a nice piece of ahi tuna that we seared this evening. We have always enjoyed their pinot; we've never been to Mendocino, so I don't know much about its temperatures etc. relative to, say, the Russian River valley. So I don't think about Mendocino when I think pinot. But we have found that this pinot is consistently wonderful.
In this year's incarnation, its inital nose is big and jammy (cherry jam), with a bit of pepper and some tannin/acid notes. The initial palate was one of round, lush fruit (cherries and blackberries), a typical taste and feel of an American pinot. There was also some tannin bitterness at the back end. It had almost no strong mineral or oak qualities to it.
As it oxidized and opened up, the bitter tannin aftertaste was gone, leaving only the lush fruit and a hint of vanilla that came out over time. This vanilla indicates some subtle oak effects.
All in all, this is an excellent, well-balanced wine, a fine example of an American pinot noir. It's not particularly complex or layered. So we give it a B+/A-, 89-91 points. The 2003 is listed on the web site for $22.
