Nothing better to start your pre-weekend than a Thursday night bottle from the Russian River Valley.
After a competitive tennis match, I was able to kick back and enjoy the Balletto Vineyards 2009 Pinot Noir, BCD Vineyard, courtesy of TWAV tasting team members Glorious T and Ace of Bass.
This is a rare wine with a special connection. Acquaintance Ray Carlson is a well-known grape grower in the Russian River Valley and is the “C” in BCD Vineyard along with Balletto and DeLoach.
Ray is a very active member of the National Exchange Club and through that connection, Glorious T was the happy recipient of several bottles.
A single vineyard Pinot Noir, only 12 barrels of the 2009 were produced. The BCD Vineyard was previously blended with other vineyards and this is its first solo performance. It’s quite a treat to be able to sample a special wine like this.
The wine is ruby in color and gave forth a flowery blast as it swirled in the decanter, but the nose was mostly closed after that.
Cranberry and dark cherry flavor notes are evident as well as flavors of tea and earthiness. The wine had noticeable astringency, but as the wine opened up in the glass, it took on more of a rounder feel.
The finish was short and featured not the red fruit notes I expected, but a drier earthier feel. The wine is very complex and structured.
Although this is a nice sipper now, it really needs a year or two to mellow the tannins. The wait will unquestionably be worth it. The wine retails for $34.
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