Day 5 – Mendocino County & the Anderson Valley – Brutocao, Navarro and Toulouse

Brutocao

Our mission today was to find the perfect Pinot Noir, but I was also keen to try this beautiful area’s Alsatian varietals.  Sadly, we were missing their Alsace Festival of Wine by only 2 weeks, that sounded like a lot of fun.  Mark’s priority was a good breakfast, so we made a pit-stop at The Redwood Cafe in Boonville to fill up, a good choice.  As we headed North up this glorious valley, our first stop, purely because they opened earlier than the others, was Brutocao, right off the 128.  We were the only ones there and were warmly welcomed by Videlle, our pourer.  She explained the Lion of St Mark on their label, the family’s Italian origins and their history in the valley which dates back to the late 1940s when grandfather Irv Bliss bought the ranch.  Still family owned and operated, they now have  11 acres of Pinot Noirs growing right on the doorstep here, otherwise all their grape-growing is done in the next door valley on 450 acres at Hopland.  Their first vintage was bottled in 1980 under the Brutocao label and production is now up to 15,000 cases p.a.  Their second label, named for their grandfather Bliss, is widely distributed across the States.  So not entirely a local, homegrown experience, but pretty near it.
This was a fun and enjoyable tasting of good, well-made, if not exceptional, wines.  The 2007 Reserve Pinot Noir Anderson Valley @ $38 was bright cherry red, with spicy tones, good tannins, smooth and elegant.  35% on new French oak for 14 months, this gives the winemakers of Burgundy a run for their money.  The 2008 Pinot Noir was adequate, but overly smokey, largely due to the forest fires that swept across the mountain tops here and imparted their smoke on the entire harvest.  Hard to get round.  Some of the Italian single varietals were interesting: a 2009 Sangiovese was light garnet, bright strawberry notes, balanced acidity, mild tannins, 14.5%, $22, 150 cases produced;  2009 Barbera Feliz Vineyard was plummy, earthy, big, a great mouthful @ $22, only 200 cases made.  Favourite was the 2008 Uber Tuscan, Estate Bottled, a good honest blend of 59% Sangiovese, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon – complex, red fruit, great length, $24.  Their 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled was excellent, deep purple, pronounced sweet oak, complex cedar and blackberry notes, $36.  I didn’t go a bundle on their dessert wines, but imagine the Zinfandel Port has its fans.  A pretty spot to start our Anderson Valley tastings, but I wanted more in my glass, so on we went.

Navarro

Now we’re talking!  This is small, family-owned and operated, with 90% of their production sold directly either from the premises or via their wine club.  Despite the early morning rain and mist, this was a glorious spot, with calendula striping the rows of vines and cows grazing on the hills above the vineyard.  I really love the range of trees hereabouts – madrone, buck-eye, redwood, eucalyptus, poplar, all stark and bare at this time of year, but providing a dramatic backdrop to the valley.  The climate of Philo is cool and rugged, with early morning fog and coastal ocean breezes the norm.  Christopher was our pourer, what a great advocate for the winery he proved to be.  He explained how they use a chicken tractor to graze the rows, plus flocks of Babydoll sheep.  Sustainability is key to success here.  Jim Klein makes the wine, ably assisted by the whole team at Navarro – each wine is clearly a group effort.  Production is up to 40,000 cases p.a., with 25% of grapes produced right here on 90 acres of gravelly loam.   The family are all hands-on – Ted Bennett and Deborah Cahn started planting vines here back in the 1970s and have now been joined by son Aaron and daughter Sarah.  There is no tasting fee and the atmosphere in the tasting room was friendly and relaxed.  Christopher explained that methods of production here are a bit different – the oak they use to age the wine comes in the usual 60-gallon barrel size, but also 120-gallon puncheons AND ovals, over a 1,000 gallons – they use stainless steel tanks too.  Pick up a copy of their Newsletter, it makes great reading and provides loads of information about what goes down here.

We started our tasting with their 2009 Chardonnay, on French oak for 8-10 months, delicious butteriness, baked apple, warm and full, $25.  Then their 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, pale to colourless in the glass, toasty, yeasty notes, then lemon & citrus zing, $18.  The 2010 Pinot Gris was nutty and biscuity goodness in the glass, delicious, $19.  Next was a 2009 Gewurtztraminer, beautiful lychee on the nose, crisp & dry in the mouth, kiwi, not what I was expecting, divine, $19.  On to their 2010 Riesling, 1% residual sugar, exceptional, pear aroma, dry finish, $18.  A sip of their 2010 Edelzwicker was a surprise, made from Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurtztraminer & Riesling blend, 1.5% residual sugar, good with a Thai curry, bargain @ $13.  What a cracking selection of whites, incredible value, superb quality.  And we hadn’t even started on the reds.  Their 2009 Pinot Noir from grapes grown in Mendocino County was exceptional, near-perfect balance of fruit and acidity, $19!  This place works on so many levels, not least their wines, but also the family’s ethos and emphasis on the importance of the whole team getting behind a particular vintage.  Who could resist the Navarro call, we were certainly swept up in it.

Chris recommended we visit Toulouse Winery just up the road, but first we did a side-tour to the coast and Mendocino.  We drove through Navarro Redwood State Park, with these majestic trees soaring up on both sides of the road, hemming us in to the reddish gloom.  When you emerge at the coast, the mist had cleared and the Pacific looked calm.  Mendocino is a place that time has forgotten about, it has an aura of ageing hippiedom, a gentle spot appealing to life’s more easy-going folk.  We had a great lunch in an Irish pub, Patterson’s, then wandered around town and into the Ford House Museum which gave a glimpse into life here when the lumber mills were in full swing.  A little bit dilapidated, a touch of Victoriana, it would be a nice place to hole up and escape from the rigours of daily life.

Toulouse

Back on the winery trail, we retraced our steps towards Philo where Vern Boltz is handcrafting amazing wines.  He and wife Maxine retired to this 160-acre site and planted 17 acres of Pinot Noir back in 1997.  Their first vintage was 2002 and was the SanFranChron’s favourite Pinot Noir from Mendocino County that same year.  Toulouse has not looked back since.  The tasting room is right inside their winery, although there is a new one being built alongside.  Stainless steel tanks were lined up outside the building, with a small stepladder propped up against one of them.  Vern had apparently been tasting that day prior to bottling his 2010 whites ready for the upcoming Alsace Varietal Festival.  This place has a very welcoming and relaxed atmosphere – we were warmly greeted by Kathy & Rita, the assistant wine-maker, despite arriving only 40 minutes before closing.  They didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, and in fact we were still chatting at half-past five when others would have shooed us out.  The Toulouse goose logo is everywhere, Tess the lab might amble over to say hello, there is a parrot in a cage in the middle of the cave – definitely a spot with character and a sense of fun.  Pinot Noir is their passion, but they are also producing good Alsace varietals made from grapes purchased from other Anderson Valley growers.  Production is up to 5,000 cases p.a., but Vern would like to increase that to 8,000 p.a..  We started with a 2010 Pinot Gris, zingy, apricot, pear, zesty, fresh, dry, good acidity, $24.  Sadly their Gewurtztraminer is sold out, but the 2010 Rose of Pinot Noir was a total surprise, packed with strawberry notes, dry, only 450 cases made, $24.  Four reds followed.  First up, their 2008 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, full-bodied, lush, cinnamon, smoky, ripe cherries, $42.  The 2008 Estate Pinot Noir is even bigger, with dark fruit, very complex, aged in French & Hungarian oak for 18 months, $50.   I loved the 2009 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, huge cherry fruit, bramble, delicious, $42.  Lastly, the 2008 Lautrec Pinot Noir, dark ruby, tart, dill on the nose (they used an Australian technique, reverse osmosis, to try to get the smoke out of the skins & juice left from the forest fires that had raged that summer), but a deep earthiness remains – definitely a BBQ quaffer @ $26.  You will like this place, it’s small yet full of character, and Kathy looked after us superbly.  Size is not everything.