"State of Wine" Virginia Wine Tasting

What better way to spend a Saturday evening then tasting some of the best that Virginia has to offer in wine?  The Washington Wine Academy put on a show to Virginia's stuff with the winery's representing their product which was great.  Had a opportunity to find out what was really going on the wineries.  Not surprising, Cabernet France held the day.  Some great examples out there.  Surprising how many were doing Viognier.  A traditionally hard grape to get ripe and pick at the same time to display their aromatics without being to flabby.  Also interesting is that many buy grapes.  Made we wonder who from?  Would have liked to see a bit more Tannat.  Comments are below.

Trump Winery Blanc de Blanc 2008 - Way too tart - mouth puckering.  Not much to love.

Rappahannock Cellars Chardonnay 2011 - Tart lemon and apple.

Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc 2011 - Classic Cab Franc.  Best of the night.

Rappahannock Cellars Meritage 2011 - Earthy with plum and black cherry.  Tart black cherry on the palate with medium plus tannin.  Medium plus acidity.

Pearmund Cellars Viognier 2011-  Nice.  Tart, flowery with peach.  medium plus body.

Pearmund Cellars Old Vine Chardonnay - muddy nose with oak.  Spritzy on the palate.  My least favorite.

Pearmund Cellars Late Harvest Traiminette 2011- Nice effort with balance between sweet and acidy.  Apricot and pineapple.

Pearmund Cellars Ameritage 2010 - Big tannins - agressive.  Bordeaux like nose with earth and tart and a bit green.

Boxwood Estate Winery Topiary 2011 - Nose of earth and forest floor with black cherry and pencil lead.  Good tannins with acidity to match.  Good length.

Boxwood Estate Winery Trellis 2011 - muted earthiness in nose.  Pale in color.  Good tannin but a little green with medium body.

RdV Vineyards Rendezvous 2009 - Opaque in color.  Black cherry and plum with earth in nose.  Fruit forward in palate but short on finish.  Disappointing.

Barboursville Vineyards Octagon 2009 - Bordeaux like with medium garnet in color.  Plum and black cherry in nose.  Tart with medium plus tannin.  Black cherry with good length and body.

Paradise Springs Winery Viognier 2012- Floral nose with apple.  Tart but strangely not acidic.

Paradise Springs Winery Cabernet Franc 2012 - Another nice effort.  Like the tannat that added spice and body.

Horton Vineyards Chardonnay - Muted spice, apple and pear.  Some acidity.  Pretty good - not over the top as expected.

Horton Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2010- Nice effort. Black fruit with tannins to match.  Not overdone.

Horton Vineyards Petit Verdot 2011 -  Opaque.  Mutted nose.  Aggressive tannin.  Thick with black fruit but a bit green. Full bodied but not overdone.

Horton Vineyards Syrah 2012 - Look for more purple in color.  Spice with black raspberry.  Tannins are fine.  Medium plus body and medium length with good acidity.

Horton Vineyards Boisseau 2006 - Nice clean nose with black raspberry and blackberry.  Tannins and acidity in check - firm.  Medium body and medium length.

Bordeaux from 1982 and 1983 and a 2000 - Looking and Tasting Pretty Good After All These Years!

Buzz provided quite a sendoff for Beverly as she got ready to move to Chicago to get married.  Can't get much better than that!  I can say that I had some worry about the bottles and whether any of them would be drinkable even if they were perfectly stored.  Yes, these were wines from the start of a new era for Bordeaux and have aged beautifully over the years. Attached are my notes from the evening.  Tony deserves a shout out for his beef stew.  I provided the bolognese with butternut squash and and white chocolate cheesecake with fresh raspberry sauce for dessert.  Everyone was quite happy with the evening - that is an understatement.  

Chateau Braude-Fellonneau Haut Medoc 2000 - Beautifully aged with herbal nose framed by black cherry and plum.  Light garnet in color with medium tannin and mouth watering acidy.  

Chateau Lascomes Margaux 1982 -  Medium garnet in color.  Aromas of forest floor, black cherry plum and black licorice.  Medium acid, sturdy tannins but light in body with flavors of plum and black cherry.

 Chateau Talbot St. Julien 1982

Bottle #1 - Nose of tobacco, leather and black cherry.  Little acid and almost no tannin.  Flavors of tart black cherry and leather with medium length.

Bottle #2 - Again tobacco, leather and black cherry.   Savory comes to mind.  This one had a more spicy component and mouth watering acidity.  More of everything in the second bottle.

 Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 1982

Bottle #1 - Leather and current.  Medium garnet.  Tart with back cherry.  Not much weight.  Tannins started to emerge after 10 minutes in the bottle.

Bottle #2 - Leather!  Black cherry and plum of medium intensity.  Not as acidic as #1.  Medium plus tannins.

Chateau Meyney St. Estephe 1983

Bottle #1 - Black cherry and leather in a somewhat muted nose.  Metallic on the palate that disappeared after giving it some time to develop.  Black cherry and plum.  Medium tannins.

Bottle #2 - Nose of leather and black cherry.  Tannin was medium.  Flavor of tart black cherries.  Somewhat short on length.

WASHINGTON WINE AND CHEESE SEMINAR

'Old Vines vs Young Vines, Taste the Difference"

September 24, 2013

While a good idea, at this price point you really not going to get vines beyond 40 years of age.  Wines were not complex or wines of depth or body but are drinkable and will work for most occasions.  Serve them the relatives and keep the good stuff for yourself!

Picpoul de Pinet 2012 - Coteaux Languedoc

Medium lime aromas and "lip smacking" acidity.  Palate of lime and lime leaf with medium body and length.  Summer sipper.

Sobon Zinfandel Hillside 2011 - Amador. CA

It's just OK.  Fruit aromas of blackberry, sweet spice, and vanilla.  Acid was low and the tannins were fine and medium.  Flavors of blackberry.

Sobon Zinfandel Old Vines 2011 - Amador, CA

Bright blackberry fruit with sweet spice and vanilla.  Pale purple in color.  Medium minus in body and medium length.  Nice wine that reminds me of a good pair of slippers.

Las Rocas Garnacha 2009 - Miedes, Spain

Clean with an expressive plum and black raspberry.  Nice all around wine.  Hits the sweet spot.

Las Rocas Binas Viejas Garnacha 2009 - Miedes, Spain

Muted nose and clean.  Bit of earth and black blackberry.  Tannins were drying.

Blind Tasting of 2005 Vintage!

Blind Tasting of 2005 Vintage!

Yes, a pretty good vintage around the world.  The wines should be aging nicely and it would be a good opportunity to get everyone's butt kicked on trying to guess wines.  Yes, humbling for professional and wine snob alike.  We did five wines, then reviewed.  Had beef short ribs by me and risotto by Tony.  Finished with Sticky Toffee Pudding - a group favorite by me again.  As you can see, this is how it went for me!

Yes, Evan mostly wrong.  So much for the WSET diploma student!

My recreated notes are as follows (they went through the wash)

1.  Clear medium garnet.  Medium plus nose with cranberry, stewed strawberry, oak and tart.  Acid was medium plus while the body and acidity was medium.  Flavors of stewed strawberry cranberry, red cherry and oak. Tempranillo!

2.  Clear with viscosity on the glass.  Blackberry and black raspberry on the nose and plate.  Persistent length.  Ridge Lytton Springs Zin

3.  Clean with plum, earth, tar and leather of medium plus intensity.  Palate of plum, black cherry, earth, leather and tar.

4.  Toffee and cherry cola in the nose.  Tannins medium.  Rich with notes of chocolate.  Classic! La Cassetta Amarone

5.  Purple in color!  Ink staining on the glass.  Appeared to have more merlot than would expect from left bank.  Chateau D'Aurilhac Haut Medoc.

6.  Classically new world Cabernet from new world.  Brickish garnet in color with ink stains on the glass.  Plum and earth in the nose and palate.  Don Melchor Cabernet - Chile.

7.  Medium garnet in color.  Nose of violet, black raspberry and plum. Palate of black cherry, earth, cassis and earth with a hint of spice.  Yum.  Cyrus Cabernet.

8.  Medium garnet with cherry and chocolate.  A bit thin on the palate.

10.  Class act of the evening.  A complete wine.  Fooled me to thinking new world with the merlot shining through.  Ornellaia.