Linden Starts the 2019 Journey

The 2019 winery visits began today with a trip to Linden. They just reopened today after being closed since mid-December for the holidays. I was well prepared for some great wine after the regular and then library tastings there last year.

We got there shortly after 11. My co-pilot was someone who shall be named Co-Pilot for now. She’s done this with me a few times now, so I should go ahead and give her a designated number. She helped tremendously with photography for the visit, and gets full credit for staging and taking most of the photos.  That’s her hand below…

The menu changed very slightly since the November visit. The 2017 Sauv blanc was a blend from multiple vineyards, not the Avenius I’d previously had. It was nice, and slightly smoother than the Avenius but with the same crisp citrus flavors.

Next up, the Villages Chardonnay, their blend from all three vineyards.  This was on the menu last time, and was fantastic.  The money quote from the pourer was “This would be perfect with a little roast chicken.”  She was totally right.  Roasted or grilled chicken with some herbs and lemon would pair just amazingly with this chardonnay.

Third taste was the two clarets.  They brought the ’14 out to compare with the ’15 at the Library tasting in December.  I remembered the ’14 being quite acidic, and felt it had smoothed some – that should not have happened so quickly, and maybe this bottle got more open time, but both clarets were fantastic.  This claret is really a great wine, and a great value purchase at the price point too.

The final tasting round was the petit verdot comparison.  In the November visit, we tasted the ’14 and ’15 PV.  The ’15, which I loved, was off the menu in favor of the ’16, a younger wine.  Again the ’14 was decanted first, as it’s a very powerful wine.  The ’16 was softer and younger, but a solid PV.

We finished the tasting and proceeded to decide that we wanted a bottle of the Village Chardonnay and a meat and cheese plate to enjoy.

Co-pilot staged a gorgeous shot of the chardonnay in the “Friends of Linden” enclosed patio (and the fire was really nice with the rain coming down hard outside).

We also wound up with a glass of the Avenius Sauvignon Blanc to finish up our visit, which Co-Pilot really liked.  It was a tremendous day with the wine stimulating great conversations about raising teens (and 20-somethings) and developmental stages, and what kinds of relationships to expect with your sons.  While the wine was spectacular, I fear that no great truths were revealed to us on Harrels Corner Road today about parenting in the modern day, but if I come up with any great revelations, I will be sure to share them with my loyal readers.  Over a glass of really good wine, of course.