Review: Wines of Baldacci, 2021 Vintage

Baldacci Family Vineyards has embraced the world of Tubes with this Discovery Collection ($60) of three of its wines. The $60 set includes 100ml samples of three wines Los Carneros Chardonnay, Los Carneros Pinot Noir, and Fraternity Red Blend, all from the 2021 vintage. As they are also available separately, pricing below is for full 750ml bottles of each wine.

2021 Baldacci Chardonnay Carneros – Groovy and woody, this chardonnay offers a moderated fruit core — spiced pears with citrus — before the more aggressive vanilla and toasty oak character builds to a crescendo. Lemon cream dominates as the finish arrives, alongside some coconut elements, making for a relaxed but immersive experience that, for my money, works better as a food pairing than solo. B+ / $50

2021 Baldacci Elizabeth Pinot Noir Carneros – Quite a bold expression of pinot, with a slick punch of anise and graphite informing notes of tea leaf and toasty cola. Fruit is secondary on the gravelly body, winding its way slowly toward a black cherry quality, slightly oxidized, until it blooms to reveal a curiously sweet, Port-like finish. A bit over the top, all around. B / $65

2021 Baldacci Fraternity Red Wine Blend – 73% cabernet sauvignon, 17% petit verdot, 9% syrah, 0.25% merlot, and 0.75% cabernet franc. Aggressive, ambitious, and quite sweet, with overripe fruit pouring on notes of both red and black fruit, with blackcurrants and plum becoming aggressive as the wine builds on the palate. Juicy and unctuous, vanilla syrup seeps out of the seams, fitfully tempering the wine’s tannins. Not yet in balance, I’d like to see this again after a few years of cellar time. B / $75

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