tasting notes from california and virginia

The last time I featured my wine tasting notes was in May 2005, when I wrote about Gibbston Valley (New Zealand) and Veritas (Virginia). I've only been tasting at wineries three times since then: once in Central Virginia in the fall of 2005, once in Napa, California this past summer, and most recently a few weeks ago here in Northern Virginia (Purcellville). I need to be going more often!

A list of the few of the bottles I enjoyed enough to buy and recommend…

Villa Mt. Eden 2005 Grand Reserve Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, Calif.
Winemaker Mike McGrath describes it as, "An affable cream-hazelnut aroma wafts along bearing flowers and ripe fruit. The juicy, ripe fruit flavors gradually introduce butterscotch wafers and toast. Lively and clean, the overall effect is an attractive, enjoyable quaff that urges a repeat sip." I'm not much of a chardonnay person (not into oaky or buttery wines), but I really liked this one. I actually picked up this bottle at Conn Creek in Napa Valley, their sister winery.

Rutherford Hill 2003 Sangiovese, Napa Valley, Calif.
Tasting notes from the winery: "Sangiovese, also known as Brunello or Sangioveto, is the primary grape in the famous Chianti appellation in Italy. Sangiovese was brought to California by Italian immigrants, many of whom settled in the Napa Valley. With the many micro climates that exist in the Napa Valley, Sangiovese thrives and produces great wines. Rutherford Hill’s 2003 Sangiovese shows the full potential of this varietal. Ruby in color, this wine has an aroma profile of strawberry jam, ripe plums that open up into cherries with notes of hazelnut and caramel. In the pallet, the wine is smooth with alcohol and acids existing in complete harmony with the tannins to create finesse in the finish. In other words, 'Alzi il vostro vetro a questo vino!'" This is where I learned that Sangiovese is the same grape that Chianti is made of, but one can only call it Chianti if it comes from the Chianti region in Italy. Wine lesson aside, this was a really nice wine.

Frank Family Vineyards Rouge Champagne, Napa Valley, Calif.
"A blend composed predominantly of Pinot Noir with a dash of Chardonnay both grown in Napa Valley, Rouge is a fun, festive, fruit driven champagne. First scents of strawberries and lychee tickle the nose, followed by essence of orange zest and then the sparkling fruit flavors enchant the taste buds." Any wine that has hints of lychee has me sold, but the winemakers did an artful job of blending the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Breaux Vineyards 2002 Nebbiolo, Virginia
"This bold Italian varietal grows on the mountainside at Breaux Vineyards and gives way to earthy flavors of tar, tobacco violets and licorice while plum and smokey cherry round out the finish." By far one of the most interesting red wines I've ever tasted. I've had one other Virginia wine with hints of tobacco and it was not-so-great, but this one was fantastic.

Breaux Vineyards 2006 Viognier, Virginia
"Beatiful tropical aromas and flavors. Orange blossom, honey and freshly sliced pineapple dominate the palate. crisp acidic finish." This is truly one of the best Viognier wines I've had, possibly one of the best whites. The other Viognier I would highly recommend is...

Horton Vineyards, 2006 Viognier, Virginia
"A bold, spicy, aromatic wine with intense peach and vanilla flavors." Like I said, one of the best whites I've ever tasted.

It's not really well-known yet (although some newspapers have picked up on it before), the Viognier grape is Virginia's gem. After tasting the Horton Viognier last year, I went on a round-the-world tasting by way of my local wine shop. I tried Viogniers from France, California, Washington, and New York. None held a candle to Virginia's. If you haven't tried a Virginia Viognier, it's worth a try.

Just remember to take the advice given to me by Jim Prager, the proprietor of Prager Winery and Port Works, the very first time I went wine tasting: it doesn't matter what anyone has to say about a wine. Taste it yourself and if you like it, that's all that counts.