Wine Pick up & more out I-66

Carol was out of town one weekend last month so I was travelling and tasting solo on this particular weekend.  I knew I was picking up our wine club from Delaplane Cellars, but other than that, I was free to choose where to visit. 

Early arrival at Delaplane Cellars

Delaplane was pairing some small plates with the wines being picked up. The 2012 Rosé was paired with a pork roulette with strawberry preserves.  I really liked this Rosé.  Lots of strawberry and melon flavors with good acidity. The 2012 Rosé is made of a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The 2012 Viognier was paired with toasted cornbread and local honey.  I loved the wine and the cornbread separately, although not too sure of the combination.  Regardless, this 2012 Viognier is quite good, with softer notes due to aging in neutral oak barrels. 

The last wine for this quarter's shipment was the 2011 CINQ3, a red blend of made up with Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc, all from separate Virginia vineyards.  This was paired with Caromont Red Rowe cheese. An excellent blend for the 2011 vintage. I also tasted the 2012 Melange Blanc and the 2011 Merlot.  I have tasted this 2011 Merlot on a previous trip.  It is a lighter Merlot, but very tasty.  It is meant to drunk sooner than later.

After picking up my wine club shipment I travelled over to Barrel Oak Winery (BOW) to visit Kathy, one of the Virginia Wine Mafia.  On my way down the hill to leave Delaplane Cellars I saw Rich, Kathy's husband, coming up the hill to pick up their wine shipment at Delaplane Cellars.

Barrel Oak is under a bit of construction. They are adding some more space including new restrooms.

I only stopped in to taste a couple of the wines.  I wound up purchasing the 2011 Chardonnay to bring home. 


Departing Barrel Oak I made a quick trip to Miracle Valley Vineyard.  Carol suggested I visit them as we have not visited them in a long time.

After a tasting at Miracle Valley I drove over to Boxwood Estate Winery to try the new 2012 Rosé.  I had visited Boxwood a little while back so the rosé was the only wine I haven't already tried.

We have always enjoyed the Boxwood rosés.  Boxwood Winery consistently makes superb rosé.  The 2012 was no exception. This year's rosé is a blend of Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.   I like how they have set things up at the winery.  Outdoor seating and tastings in the Chai are nice touches.  Very pleasant and competent staff too.

 

If you visit Delaplane Cellars, Barrel Oak Winery, Miracle Valley Vineyard, or Boxwood Estate Winery, tell them you read about them at Wine About Virginia.

Friday evening in Loudoun County

We saw on Facebook that Leesburg Brewing Company was now open for business so we travelled out there on a late Friday afternoon to try the food offerings.  Carol opted for the BBQ chicken sliders with an order of fries.  I  had the bratwurst and onion rings.  Interestingly, neither Corcoran beers or Carroll Vineyards wines were available that day.  The staff said it was something still being worked out with the VABC.  We enjoyed the local beer and Chilean wine though and the food was quite good.

We made a quick stop at Catoctin Creek Winery for Jim's newly-bottled Sauvignon Blanc.  We had tasted this wine straight from the tank in February and loved the style. We picked up some bottles for some Virginia wine mafia friends too.

Our last stop was Sunset Hills Vineyard.  Sunset Hills stops tastings at 6:00PM but is open until 8:00PM for wine sales by the bottle and glass. We opted for a glass of the Sunset White and the 2012 Sunset Rosé, both newly released. 

The rosé is a blend of  83 percent Chambourcin and 17 percent Vidal Blanc with nice raspberry notes.  The Sunset White for the first time was 100 percent Traminette.  The wine was crisp and flavorful without that overpowering flower flavor that Traminette all too often displays.  This one was nicely done.

Loudoun County is a pleasant place to visit on a Friday evening.  If you visit the Leesburg Brewing Company, Catoctin Creek Winery, or Sunset Hills tell them you read about their establishments at Wine About Virginia.



May wine club pickup at North Gate Vineyards

We went to the recent North Gate Vineyard wine club (Trellis club) pickup with some friends from church.  Mark and Vicki Fedor held a special tasting for club members. 

We tasted the recently bottled, yet still unreleased 2012 Viognier, the unbottled 2012 Petit Verdot,  the unreleased 2011 Meritage and the newly released 2012 Chambourcin.  These were accompanied with some delicious hors d'oeuvres.

The 2011 Meritage was blended and then returned to barrel for further aging and integration of flavors.  This is probably the most intense 2011 Virginia red wine I have yet tasted and I am looking forward to a future release.  The Viognier is outstanding too.

 

The 2012 Chambourcin was included in our pickup.  This Chambourcin is off-dry, with intense color and raspberry flavor, yet very smooth due to the very low tannin.

Besides the special club member tastings the North Gate tasting room was very busy.  The word is out on North Gate. You find great wines at very fair prices. When you visit, tell them you read about North Gate on Wine About Virginia.

North Gate Vineyard
16031 Hillsboro Road
Purcelleville, VA 20132  
540-668-6248

Keswick 2011 Barrel Select Rose - On the way to #varosé day

As we head towards #varosé day on May 29th, I am reviewing some Va Rosé along the way. #Varosé was first discussed by Allan at Cellar Blog.  My first Rosé review was written in mid-April so it was time to write about another fine Virginia Rosé, the Keswick 2011 Barrel Select Rosé. 

 

The Keswick 2011 Barrel Select Rosé was made from 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is a dry Rosé with good acidity and a nice finish.  I pick up on some rather nice strawberry aroma and taste with maybe some cherry flavor too in this dark pink, almost red, Rosé.  It went very well with our pizza.

2011 was a very tough year for red wines in Virginia, especially Cabernet Sauvignon.  But this Rosé showed that a good winemaker can craft a lovely wine in spite of the adverse conditions.  I believe the Keswick 2011 Barrel Select Rosé is now sold out, but there may be a few bottles on shelves around the state.