Took a spur of the moment one day trip on Saturday.
First stop is Linden Vineyards. I really appreciate all of the Linden wines. A solid line up accross the board. I am predominately a red wine drinker and the current releases are very good with my favorite being the 2006 Hardscrable Red. I could not find any fault with this wine. Well balanced and the structure to age and improve for years. 13.2% alcohol and while I could drink a lot of this now its obvious that it should be better in 5 years. The 2006 Avenius Redhas a noticable acidity that I found somewhat distracting when tasted next to the hardscrablle. The funny thing is that it was my normally acid averse wife that said she thought the Avenius would be a better food wine and ensured we bought at least a few bottles. The only 2007 red currently available is the Claret which had a great nose but failed to follow through in the taste being just a touch light and in comparision dilute. However it is the Chardonnays that I think are the real winners here. I liked them all but for the few dollars difference between the basic Chardonnay and the 2007 Hardscrabble Chardonnay there is no reason in my mind to buy anything else. This wine retails at the winery for $26 before any case discounts and in my opinion blows away any sub $30 Chard I have had in the past couple years. This is a buy by the case wine because as lovely as it is now, I think it is going to get better for a number of years and have a long life after that. Everyone knew 2007 was special in Virginia and this is the first sign of how much we can expect from the vintage. For those that wonder if Virigina reds can age, we tasted the 2002 Cabernet Franc and it was pure velvet. It was an amazing example of what these wines can become with a few years on them. Unfortunately the wine is no longer available for sale except by the glass at the winery.
Next stop is Naked Mountain. Not my favorite place but my wife wanted to stop to see the dog and cat and she did like the Chardonnay years ago. Before we get all the way to the winery I see trouble. The white stretch limo is a sign of what's to come. Sure enough the inside of the tasting room is more like a Chucky Cheese than a quality winery. We decide to try two wines, pick one for the sympathy bottle and move on to the next stop. The chardonnay is an oak filled mess. The Chardonnay/Riesling is drinkable.
Final stop is the Boxwood tasting room. The winery is by appointment only but there is a tasting room in the center of town a few miles away. Boxwood only makes three wines. As they describe it a right bank (Topiary) bordeaux style blend and a left balnk blend (Boxwood) as well as a rose. The rose is very smooth and well priced for $12. Boxwood made a wine from purchased grapes in 2005 - avoid. The 2006 wines both had a little funk on the nose that I found off putting. My wife called it eucalyptus. The 2007 though are the real deal. Well integrated, no funk, smooth wines that again show the ripe but not overripe fruit one would expect from 2007. To my surprise I much prefered the Cabernet Sauvignon based Boxwood to the Merlot/Caberent Franc Topiary. I think this has to be another sign of the vintage as generally the Virgnia Cabernet Sauvignon is not up to the standard of the Merlot or Cabernet Franc. This is defiently a winery to watch.
