Category Archives: Winery

Verticals at Breaux Vineyards

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This past weekend we headed to Breaux Vineyards to pick up my latest Cellar Club selections. While there we decided to do a tasting to see what had been added to the tasting menu. We were treated to a few vertical tastings of new wines and some classics. While we enjoyed all of the Breaux wines, I’ll only inform you of the wines that were included in our vertical tastings.

We began with merlots. Breaux is now tasting the 2005 and the 2006 at the tasting bar. Our favorite tasting associate Silvia, walked us through our tastings. The 2005 Merlot is a wonderful wine. We noted cherry, chocolate, dark fruit, and finish that was smooth. We thought this one could be enjoyed on its own or with food. The 2006 Merlot presented early, herby characteristics with acidic notes. We noted spice, plum, and cherry. We think this one needs another year or two to be a superb wine. We suggest you purchase it now and let it sit on your rack to enjoy in the years to come.

Our second vertical consisted of the cab sauvs from 2005, 2006, and 2008. Warren and I were split on our gold stars for the cab sauvs. I preferred the 2008 with its fresh, fruity, sweet nose with bright berries and light tannins on the tongue. The 2008 was a perfect example of the fruity characteristics I expect from a 2008 red. Warren selected the 2005 for his gold star. He described it as a classic cab sauv. He noted dark cherry, pepper, coffee and chocolate and noted the subtle oak would accompany food rather well. We both thought the 2006 presented a green characteristic (not green pepper though) with wet wood notes. We both think this one will get better with time.

Our final vertical included the 2006 Nebbiolo and the 2008 Barrel Select Nebbiolo. Our gold star went to the 2008 Barrel Select Nebbiolo. We noted a fruity nose with blackberry and dark currants in the mouth. We noted the chewy quality of this wine. The 2006 Nebbiolo presented herb, spice, tobacco, tar, and coffee. This one also had a chewy quality to it.

We really enjoyed our chance to taste so many vintages. We were excited about the Cabernet Sauvignons. So much so we are planning to attend the Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical tasting on January 14th. If you are planning to attend the event, let us know so we can all sit together. And if you visit Breaux Vineyards anytime soon, be sure to tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Holiday Open House

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On Sunday we went to the Gray Ghost Holiday Open house. They hold this event annually and we try not to miss it. Each year they have a different holiday glass design. This year its a penguin. They also have a yearly cork contest. Al makes some holiday item out of corks and you need to guess how many corks it took to make the item. This year Al made a holiday mail box for letters to Santa. Warren and I guess every year but never win. We aren’t the best at guessing. At this time of the year the tank room is decorated for the holidays showing all the previous creations for the cork contest.

During the event we enjoyed some wonderful foods and all the delicious wines offered at Gray Ghost. I favored the Merlot this year and Warren decided his favorite of the day was the new Reserve Chardonnay. He has always been a big fan of the Reserve Chardonnay.

Here are some pictures from the Holiday Open House at Gray Ghost:




Friday Pours

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The holidays are such a busy time of year. On Friday evening we were able to sit down, relax and have dinner at home. We decided to have dinner at my house and decorate my Christmas tree.

We began the evening with the 2010 Pinot Gris from Pollak Vineyards. We had this with some sliced swiss cheese and water crackers. Right away on the nose we noted lemon-lime. On the palate we noted citrus as well. One thing we noticed was lacking was acidity. This pinot gris wasn’t nearly as crisp as we remember others being in the past. This made us wonder of this was a symptom of the 2010 growing season for whites. Have you noticed any 2010 Virginia whites lacking acidity?

For dinner we had ham steaks and scalloped potatoes. We selected the 2009 Cabernet Franc from Philip Carter Winery. We have enjoyed this one in the past and knew it would pair well with our meal. We noted violets, dried herbs, raspberry and cherry. We noted very similar characteristics in the mouth. The woodsy, herby, berry fruit really stood out. And yes, it paired well with our meal.

If you visit Pollak Vineyards or Philip Carter Winery anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

More Favorites in Charlottesville

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Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over we can get back to our regular posting schedule. On the second day of our Charlottesville trip over the Veterans Day weekend we visited more wineries. Three of the wineries we visited were King Family Vineyards, Sugarleaf Vineyards, and Keswick Vineyards.

A beautiful crisp fall day greeted us as we began our tasting at King Family. As with other Virginia wineries, King Family is low on their white wines. Of course we enjoyed both the 2010 Viognier and the 2010 Chardonnay. The 2010 Viognier presented melon flavors with the addition of peach and apricot in the mouth. We also noted the full mouth feel of this wine. We thought we might be enjoying it later with the fall colors.

Of the reds we were split. Warren really enjoyed the 2009 Meritage and jotted down violets, cigars, sandalwood, and earthy elements. I really enjoyed the 2010 Cabernet Franc and wrote down earth, spice, and raspberry.

After our tasting we enjoyed a bottle of the 2010 Viognier with nibbles on the grounds at King Family. The fall colors were perfect. While enjoying our wine, winemaker Matthieu Finot joined us for some wine chat. We always enjoy chatting with Matthieu. Before leaving we promised Matthieu that we’d return when we had more time to talk and taste some barrel samples.

Next up is Sugarleaf Vineyards. We hadn’t visited Sugarleaf for a while and it was time to see what was new at Sugarleaf. Sugarleaf also only had two white wines to taste and of these we put our star next to the 2008 Chardonnay. We noted apple and vanilla and a nice crisp finish. Of the reds we really enjoyed the 2010 Petit Verdot. Here we noted plum and spice with some solid tannins. I thought of some red meat with this wine.

While we were tasting we were recognized by our tasting associate and she insisted that we head down to the barrel room to meet the new winemaker Romulus Pascall. He’s been with Sugarleaf for five years and studied under the previous winemaker Dan Neumeister. He allowed us to enjoy a barrel sample of the 2010 Cuvee Neubia. He was just about to move it into more aggressive barrels to import a more buttery/smooth finish. It was quite tannic and will need more time but you could see this is going to be a very nice wine when it is released in the future.

Our final stop of the day was Keswick Vineyards. Keswick is one of our favorites. We always have a good time chatting with Stephan and Kat. And Stephan always gives us a sneak peek of the wines still in the barrel. Unfortunately this time they were both at a wedding. We missed seeing them of course but still enjoyed the wines.

Like many other Virginia wineries Keswick is low on white wines. We only tasted the 2010 Chardonnay. We have already enjoyed this one and enjoyed it again on this visit. We noted pear, green apple, and butterscotch. Of the reds we actually put stars next to the 2010 Touriga and the 2009 Merlot. The 2010 Touriga presented notes of cherry, raspberry and smoke. I instantly enjoyed the fruit characteristics of this wine. The 2009 Merlot presented cherry, coffee, and an almost creamy vanilla finish. We were thinking of which wine to bring home for dinner and ultimately decided on the 2010 Touriga. Now I wished I had gotten a second bottle for the wine rack!

We enjoyed our time in Charlottesville. Revisiting old favorites is always fun. If you haven’t been to King Family Vineyards, Sugarleaf Vineyards, or Keswick Vineyards, you need to plan a trip to Charlottesville soon! And be sure to tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!