I may have celebrated Virginia Wine Month a little. Or more than a little.
Since the first post, the wine drinking continued.
Another Walsh gem, the 2020 Dutchman’s Creek Cabernet Franc. This one worried me a little when I pulled that cork. It could have signaled a bottle gone bad…. however, this turned out to be fantastic, as we expect from Walsh. This is just a great example of what Virginia Cabernet Franc can produce. It comes across clean with clear fruit – and not a hint of that weird vegetal flavor I get from some single-varietal Cabernet Franc in Virginia. They don’t overuse oak, and I don’t really get any oak at all from this one. I see there is a new vintage in my upcoming club shipment, so I’m very excited!
I am finding more and more good Virginia Merlot these days. This one from Montifalco, while I do get more oak in it, is just lovely. There is plenty of fruit in this one with a nice generally juicy quality to it. I didn’t take any notes from what I had for dinner with it but I do recall that the dark chocolate paired very well with it. This is one I’ll go back for again soon!
Oh Glen Manor, I found you buried on the rack and what a lovely surprise. And a 2017 no less! I’m reading more and more that winemakers feel 2023 vintages will rival 2019 and 2017 for their power and quality. This makes me incredibly happy, because a lot of my favorite wines come from 2017. This one also packed a nice juicy punch with a little bit of tannin on the side. I think the only Glen Manor I have left now is a Petit Verdot. Soon, my pretty, soon!
This is an old dear friend. Jason’s Tannat was the first I’d ever had, and remains my favorite. The 2020 was a softer expression from his whole lineup – due to the cooler overall season. Nonetheless, this is drinking lovely right now, and was a great glass after dinner wine.
As it got warmer in our third round of fake fall weather, I found a need to return to chilled white wines, and so this year’s big surprise, Arterra’s 2022 Gruner Veltliner. This was my last bottle. I brought a bunch of this home from the white wine release there – it has a lovely crispness that really won me over. While the internet says its similar to Reisling as a varietal, I liken it more to a chardonnay that is super crisp and clean – I felt it really had some of that zing and tanginess that is just so lovely in some of my favorite fresh Chardonnay.
Today (Sunday) I took friends from NoVa to Southwest Mountain Vineyards for the afternoon for food and drink. Even husband joined for the food part! I enjoyed my Reserve Tasting – a 2020 and 2021 Reserve Chardonnay (the 21 definitely won for me – cleaner and brighter than the 20, although I did enjoy the 20), and a 2020 and 2021 Reserve Petit Verdot. The 2020 Petit Verdot was best in show for me. As Petit Verdot ages it softens and gains complexity, and I adore that. The 2021 had some harsher tannins to it and just felt to me like it was a little on the young side right now. This is different from how it felt when I went to the soft opening a few weeks ago. It was still good, but the 2020 had an overall rounder feel that I enjoyed – maybe it was the hot day? We ordered a bunch from their menu with the charcuterie board and crab fondue being the really big winners.
We will round out Virginia Wine Month with a longtime favorite, Arterra’s Crooked Run, on Tuesday evening, while handing out candy. If you trick or treat in my neighborhood, you can ever get treated to a pour on the porch while you kids scarf down hershey’s and york peppermint patties. Note: I’m stealing all the Hershey Special Dark cause 1) I love them and 2) they pair well with this wine.
I hope you’ve celebrated Virginia Wine Month well, and taken the time to savor. I feel like I revisited a number of favorites over the course of the month and hope you saw one you’re really interested in here. November has some great stuff coming up in it too, and it’s time to get through the stockpile in my basement, I will keep you posted about that!
And until November 3, 2023, you can buy one of these for yourself! Order now!
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