Benovia, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2014

 This limited release, single vineyard wine isn’t one you’re likely to just bump into while browsing the aisles of your local wine shop, but the winery is still selling it, as is a national retailer.  It is a superb wine, showing the ripe, concentrated profile that one expects from California Pinot in this price range, yet is also displays exemplary freshness and excellent detail (meaning, lots of little aromatic and flavor nuances).  Fruit, acidity, tannin and wood are all perfectly proportioned, making this a pleasure to simply sip on its own, but its outstanding balance also enables it to work well with a very wide range of foods.  Terrific juice.