Balletto Winery Rose of Pinot Noir 2017
-
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Balletto Rosé is made exclusively from estate-grown Pinot Noir, a grape known for delicacy, light color and good acidity. It was cold fermented to complete dryness in 100 percent stainless steel to enhance its focus and harvested early to maintain acidity and lightness.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Meaty layers of wild strawberry, peach and cherry shine in this well-integrated wine. It's light in ripeness and entirely refreshing in acidity.
Other Vintages
2022-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Enthusiast
The Balletto Family has over 600 acres in the Russian River Valley and select 10% from many different clones and soil types to make their wine. They feel fortunate to sell the remaining 90% of their grapes to other wineries. In July 2010, the Balletto Family was honored being awarded the Sonoma County Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year.
Whether it’s playful and fun or savory and serious, most rosé today is not your grandmother’s White Zinfandel, though that category remains strong. Pink wine has recently become quite trendy, and this time around it’s commonly quite dry. Since the pigment in red wines comes from keeping fermenting juice in contact with the grape skins for an extended period, it follows that a pink wine can be made using just a brief period of skin contact—usually just a couple of days. The resulting color depends on grape variety and winemaking style, ranging from pale salmon to deep magenta.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.