We are often asked what is our ‘best selling’ wine. Its a hard question to answer – we make so many different kinds! There is of course Syrah, Cabernet, and Primitivo, Barbera. But there is only one wine that we produce almost more bottles of than any other varietal, and it never makes it a full year in the tasting room. And that’s Sangiovese.
If you come in the tasting room looking for Sangiovese towards the end of spring and into midsummer, chances are we’re sold out! That’s a good problem to have, except truth be told, we can’t get enough of it. If we could get twice the amount of Sangiovese every year, we would! Old vines planted in Amador County, California are owned and managed by Cooper Vineyards, and we have been working with this fruit since 2015. It was a blessing, as three years later the Colorado Sangiovese vineyard was unfortunately stripped out due to phylloxera. We have learned a lot about these grapes since our first vintage of Cooper Vineyard Sangiovese. Most notable is it’s consistently and overtly riper expression. While the Colorado Grand Valley sees hotter average days, the moderately coastal influence of Amador County provides higher humidity that translates into warmer nights on average. Where as its shape and very aired climate sucks the warm air out of the Grand Valley every evening. Neither is superior, just different.
What all this climate talk means is that the Amador grown fruit ripens much faster than what was once planted in Colorado. We get this Sangiovese early, and ripe! Creating balance had been a struggle in the past, but if you recall the last two vintages, we couldn’t say enough about them. These are powerful Italian styled wines that boast depth, weight, tannin, and sumptuous fruit flavors. The 2025 vintage is similar to the 2023 – robust, rustic, and a creamy fruit bomb on the palate. Youthful and reserved on the nose, we expect even in the next 2 weeks we will start to see more expressive aromas develop – this wine was only bottled a little under a month ago! The taste is delicious and textured. Smooth and round on the approach, fruit flavors are predominantly black pie cherries. Pomegranate curls on the back of your tongue as this wine finishes with floral violet and rose flavors, before concluding with smooth but bold tannin. Perfect next to the grill this 4th of July! But the range of applications for our new Sangiovese is endless, and you’ll be finding excuses to crack a bottle all year long.
We hope you enjoy this new vintage, and we’re excited to get some in your glass!
Cheers!
From The Balistreri Family
Natural Wine from Balistreri Vineyards
All Balistreri Wines are made naturally with indigenous yeast, no sulfites added, and no fining or filtering. You won’t get a headache with these wines.
Read more about our natural winemaking here, and be sure to pick up a bottle online or in the winery.
Try the 2025 Sangiovese
Want to try this delicious Sangiovese? Stop by the Winery for a taste of our current lineup. Make a reservation here!
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Want a bottle of Balistreri wine, a complimentary wine tasting for two each month, and 20% off all additional purchases? Sign up for our Wine Club! Click here to see details and join.
