West Marin’s meadery has announced the second release of an estate varietal made from honey sourced from within 30 miles of its Point Reyes Station headquarters. Heidrun Meadery owner Gordon Hull, who may be the country’s only meadmaker to naturally ferment honey to make his sparkling product, said this year’s flavors lend more of a traditional champagne quality than last year’s. “It’s quite dry. It has a robust mousse, or bubbles, a higher minerality [and] stronger bready, yeasty notes,” he said. That differs from both last year’s varietal and meads using honey from other regions and specific plants. Heidrun’s carrot blossom mead has a beer-like quality, for example, while other meads might be especially fruity or spicy. Mr. Hull said this year’s varietal does carry some subtle floral and herbal notes. “That’s probably indicative of both eucalyptus and coastal chaparral that the bees are foraging nectar from,” he said. “That’s really fascinating, because part of what we’re trying to learn is how honey changes from year to year and how that will affect our estate varietal. Frankly, we want it to change. We were excited about that.” The 90 or so hives Mr. Hull and his beekeeper, Brad Albert, tended this year produced about 40 pounds each, resulting in 600 bottles. The limited quantity means they are only available at the meadery.