Ten Bottles I Loved in 2024

Continuing with a thing I do, I’m bringing you a list of ten Virginia wines that really moved me in 2024 – these are wines that were either released in 2024 or that I finally stumbled upon for the first time in 2024 and thoroughly enjoyed. I wrote a post like this in 2023 and it’s one of my most-read posts, and still gets occasional hits up to now. To be fair, some of these bottles have been out there and I’ve just missed the boat on them, and others were released during the year. This is really a list, in no particular order, of wines that I just loved during the year. Here we go!

Fifty-Third Winery and Vineyards 2023 Albariño – This wine was 2024’s “Summer in a Bottle” wine. It’s gorgeous – big bright acidity and glorious bouquets of tropical citrus. It was so easy to drink through all of the bottles of this quickly sold out wine I brought home. Must remember to buy more next year. Read the main post about it.

Fox Meadow 2023 Unoaked Chardonnay – I found this wine to be crisp and fun. Charming presentation and the lack of butter, toast and oak (e.g. the most common characteristics of grocery store Chardonnay) made it so pleasurable. It’s so easy to drink a whole bottle under the umbrella on the patio. This wine is a big bottle of refreshing fun, and I want to see 2024. Here’s the post on Fox Meadow.

Fox Meadow 2021 Cabernet Franc Reserve – Oh my goodness I am so glad that I got to discover this wine this year. Brought some home from the Fauquier County Wine Showcase and went back there for more. Full on fruit, depth, tannin and structure. This has been a glorious wine, and I understand 2022 has been released. I’ll be coming your way in early 2025 to check that out, Fox Meadow.

Jake Busching 2022 Cheninquisition – Oh Jake – you and your Chenin. From barrel to bottle this wine impresses. Virginia Chenin is so fun, so acidic, so gorgeous, and so quickly gone. This wine is fully charming and easily served with anything, honestly – I’d have it with cheese in the afternoon, with chicken and potatoes at dinner, and with a dark chocolate hershey after. Fun, fresh, and right for right now. He has this available, get it now and enjoy it now and into next summer. His release party was also a blast.

Arterra 2021 Norton “Büyükbaba” – I have to tell you, Arterra’s Norton surprises me like nothing else. I have never loved Norton. Occasionally in the past I brought home some Norton, generally because it was the 13th wine on the tasting menu and by that time it was lovely, but a few weeks later it was clearly not what I wanted. Thanks for showing us what Norton can be, Jason. This has a big fruit bomb at the beginning but has lasting power, and I’m keeping some to try to age. More than likely, next time friends come over, we will open my last bottle of this and then I will be writing posts like “Memories of Arterra’s 2021 Norton…..” Remember that Norton tasting too….

Arterra 2023 Albariño – Oh 2024 – you brought so many terrific Albariños to the forefront. It is one of the small number of great memorable things to come from this year, please keep bringing wines like these into my life. Arterra came forward with a crisp and clean Albariño that I drank very quickly, and many bottles of it too. I have one or two left, because I do think in front of the fire, chilled Albariño will still be great in the winter. I mean, it’s great all the time, right? The 2023 Arterra white wines release was full of fun wine!

Walsh- 2021 What Will the Women Drink? – I struggle to think of a year in which this wine won’t make my top ten wines of the year – how could it ever disappoint? Once again dark, earthy and beautiful – this wine is one every wine lover will gravitate to – for steak, for burgers, or for chocolate by the fireplace after a long day. It was even amazing at Thanksgiving with turkey. I await this release every single year and adore every bottle. I feel like they’re making more of it than they used to, and that’s a good thing, cause it’s such a good wine!

Mt Alto 2021 Tributary – So I didn’t “discover” it this year, but it was bottled and released this year. The inverse blend of the 2021 Manteo-Nason blend (and you know I LOVE me a good Petit Verdot-dominant blend) this wine surprises and thrills. Decant at least 2 hours, and then enjoy this wine. I recommend some meat and cheese with it, but you can roll however works for you. This is a beautiful stunner, and after decanting it has lingering presence on your tongue – tannic, plum or dark fruity flavors. Joyous.

Slater Run 2020 Pit Jumper – I’m late to the game with Slater Run. Hubby enjoyed this wine so much HE even bought two bottles at the Fauquier Wine showcase. This is a gorgeous wine, and the dark, rich, tannic structure in it leaves you thirsty but happy. This was a really fun wine. And that label too…. wow! I still have one of their Pet Nat Rosé’s and a Chardonnay to share. One day soon……

Parallax 2023 What’s This? – Fun and fresh and completely unexpected. A white blend that is tannat with zero time on the skins at the core, which means flavors beyond belief and a joyous wine. Acidic, but not too acidic (thanks Traminette) and bursting with personality, this white wine knocked my socks off. Find them at a pop up and buy yourself some. You will NOT regret this decision. I promise. And heck, if you do, I will finish the bottle!

So that’s my ten. Some surprises, some not. Some winemakers I tried for the first time last year, some not. Mountain and Vine isn’t in this top ten, but they are hanging out in the background there with Grinning Fox and Screaming Hawk wanting to nudge their way into this list. Ankida and Stinson both offered so much good wine this year too, with new releases I have yet to really dig into in my Ankida club package. So many other joyous wines I drank this year, all of which deserve a spot in your glass, and perhaps on your top ten.

In my humble opinion, the Virginia wine scene got a lot more interesting this year – more variety, bottles from the 2023 vintage started showing up, and we got more attention to Virginia wine locally and nationally. We are definitely living in exciting times. What did you enjoy this year? What surprised you as a favorite, and what do you want others to enjoy? Did we have any matches on our top ten lists? I hope you will share your picks and try something new to you from my list or someone else’s.

Speaking of something old, something new, something borrowed, something….. else….. you know you need a T-shirt. Grab it now while they’re in batch order mode so you can save a few bucks on them. Remember that I set my profit to the lowest amount the site allows, generally under $1 per shirt. This isn’t about making money for me (heck, I paid facebook and instagram to run ads, so all in all this has been a money-loser for me). This is about spreading joy, and love for Virginia wine. I hope you will find one you like and wear it around. Remember, if I see you at a winery in it, your glass is on me.