This wine is made from grapes grown at John Balletto's Occidental Road Vineyard, located about a mile north-east of the town of Sebastopol. The vineyard's location, in the southern-most third of the Russian River Valley where the weather is much cooler than areas to the north, provides an extended period of ripening for Chardonnay.
Charlatan is the very finest Pinot Noir we make. In 2012, it represented less than five percent of our total production, and was crafted as a selection of our best barrels of Pinot Noir.
John Balletto has been a family friend for a number of years and we are fortunate to work with fruit from his family's vineyards. This wine is produced from the Burnside Road Vineyard, located at just under 1,000 feet of elevation and about 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean. This unique micro-climate provides one of the rare places where Pinot Noir can ripen slowly to produce wines of depth and distinction.
A powerful, expressive wine, with a core of citrus fruit. The initial nose is restrained, offering muted notes of lemon blossoms and wet stone. On the palate the wine is bright, showing primary flavors of ripe citrus, casaba melon and lemon curd. The finish is well balanced and persistent with a long, mouthwatering finish.
