Review: Wines of Baldacci, Spring 2026 Releases
The Baldacci family has established itself as a perennial favorite on the site, often making post-review encore appearances on our curated roundups of top 10 wines. Their familiarity is not without solid justification: nearly three decades into the winery’s run, the story is less about chasing notoriety than building something of high-quality reliability: something to return to vintage after vintage with confidence. This look at its spring releases includes several stalwart favorites, and we’re also conducting a first tasting of one of its sparkling wines, broadening the picture a bit and showing how the house style translates beyond the usual suspects.
2024 Baldacci Chardonnay Carneros
At first it keeps things light and airy, with aromas of white flower and tangerine, only to have a bit note of vanilla cream arrive to make the operation a bit more formal. On the palate, however, things shift and it’s all steady energy, with a soft texture core of lemon zest and oak framed by mouthwatering acidity. On the finish, tangerine returns for an encore, joined by toasted coconut to return to the tropical side. One of the pleasures of tasting it year after year is watching it evolve into a Chardonnay with an impressive resume. This is a small, but pleasurable, step forward. A- / $50
2022 Baldacci Pops Sparkling Wine
For those concerned about pedigree and statistics, this is a blend of 52% Chardonnay and 48% Pinot Noir. The nose announces itself with minimal apology: ample amounts of lemon cream and brioche that really never die down or make room for anything else. Thankfully, the palate pivots to orchard fruit, with plenty of golden delicious apple and ripe pear, and it’s a transition so seamless it borders on suspicious. Toasted almond and coconut (that Chardonnay influence) materialize on the finish, present enough to register, but restrained enough to avoid emphasizing any one quality. The bubbles maintain continuous discipline, and the acidity cuts through with precision. Among sparkling wines, this one makes its case assertively without raising its voice or invoking some sort of gimmick. Which, these days, passes for heroism. One of the better bottles of California bubbles I’ve encountered this year. A / $55
2023 Baldacci Fraternity Red Blend
The nose presents its credentials immediately: blackberry and dark cherry, softened with time by quieter nuances of baking spice and vanilla, the latter wearing its oak provenance like a tailored suit from Savile Row. There’s the familiar tendency toward abundance: a palate laden with dark fruit, toasted hazelnut, milk chocolate, and its generosity is less about hospitality and more about constructing the argument that there is no half-stepping allowed. Given air and time, the wine loosens its collar: blackcurrant and fig emerge with a bit more flash. The finish arrives in familiar terrain: chocolate, vanilla, and a whisper of mint concluding things on a refreshing note after the fruit-forward heaviness of the palate. Cellar this for a year or so, if you possess the patience contemporary life so aggressively discourages. As with most things worth having, time will only deepen what is here already in its present form. Either way, this year’s vintage presents a rather persuasive case to continue paying attention. A- / $85
2024 Baldacci Elizabeth Pinot Noir Carneros
Rather than being hostage to the idea of what a Pinot Noir should be, this one comes out of the bottle bold and ready for confrontation, with dark cherry and graphite aromas presenting immediately, eventually joined by black tea leaf (think of a really good Lapsang) and cola. The palate is where it really shows off its charms, with a core of chocolate and cherry framed by bright acidity and fine tannins, carried onward to a lingering finish by notes of oak and spice. Complex, rich and worthy of time and attention on a quiet evening, but let it sit for an hour or so after opening to get the best of what’s on offer. B+ / $65
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