pinot noir lovers
2022 Balverne Pinot Noir – Light and Refreshing
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
The Wine – 2022 Balverne Pinot Noir
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
This wine on the eyes was a semi-translucent light and bright crimson in the glass. On the nose, aromas of strawberry were dominating. On the palate, the ripe strawberries burst vividly in the mouth with secondary flavors of cranberry and cherries. The finish was a bit abrupt, but sufficient to enjoy each inviting sip. The finish was on the smoother side of tartness with rounded and caressing tannins. Only 350 cases were produced from their Russian River Valley property. It was aged in 25% new French barrels for nine months with a light toasting of the barrels. Alcohol level is 13.8% and primarily used clones 667 and 459 with a smaller percentage of 114 and 115 picked from their vineyards. No price is shown on their website but the previous vintage, 2021 was $45/bottle.
This lighter and more refreshing Pinot Noir provides more complementary food pairings.
The Food and Wine Pairing
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
Paired this evening with a Greek themed dinner. The main dish was a Greek chicken recipe that included lemons, shallot, garlic cloves, olive oil, dried oregano, kosher salt, paprika, black pepper and fresh parsley with the sliced chicken breast. Prepared in a skillet on the stove. Accompanied by Greek roasted potatoes with ingredients of chicken stock, virgin olive oil, lemon zest, garlic powder, salt, pepper, fresh oregano and fresh parsley. Also a fresh garden salad with cherry tomatoes, halved Kalamata olives and minced purple onion.
Selected this wine as an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc for the meal this evening. The Pinot Noir was light and airy believing this would be a good match for the meal. It was a good match but do think Sauvignon Blanc would have been a better choice. As the anonymous saying goes, “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you”, so worth a little risk this evening.
The meal was very tasty, and the wine was a perfect fine to drink. The thought would be for this wine to be a summertime “patio pounder” with warmer weather and could easily be a standalone wine.
The Winery
(Photo Balverne website)
Bob and Renee Stein purchased the 710-acre Russian River Valley estate that included a working vineyard in 1992. The Steins vision was to create a sustainable property which they developed by keeping 350 acres in a protected Forever Wild open space. This acreage weaved with the vineyards combines rugged wildland and wildlife with the manicured vineyards.
(Photo ©Michael Kelly)
They accomplished their ideal view and called it Notre Vue (our view). Who would not enjoy viewing this idyllic setting every day? Can you imagine yourself sitting here?
(Photo Balverne website)
The resulting effort is 250 acres of rolling vineyards and the “Forever Wild” protected space. This includes 17 miles of hiking and biking trails with picnic areas throughout. Horseback riding trails also exist. Their label shows a red shoulder Hawk which roams the area. Their motto is the reason they consider Forever Wild to be the heart of the Notre Vue Estate.
Their goal with their winemaker Alex Hoffman is focused on making wine in a European style with finesse and low intervention. Their current offerings with the Balverne label include Zinfandel, Rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, a few different Chardonnay’s, Malbec, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Under their Notre Vue label, they have various Rosés, Chardonnay’s, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a few red blends.
Sláinte,
Michael