Tag: Linden Vineyards

Wonderful Wine Weekend

/ Paul / Leave a comment

We had an amazing weekend filled with wineries, winemakers, wine and friends.

We started out in Harrisonburg on Friday visiting Lee Hartman of Bluestone Vineyard. He showed us around Rootstock Wine Bar which is his new wine bar opening up on Friday of this week! We then went to his house and enjoyed learning how to saber sparking wines, tasting some of his latest wines and enjoying a charcuterie spread created by his wife. What a fun evening!

On Saturday we visited Glen Manor Vineyards for their Winter member Event to taste a pre-release of Jeff White’s 2020 Nebbiolo as well as a barrel sample of his 2023 Nebbiolo. We finished the tasting with a taste of his 2020 Petit Manseng. All the wines were very nice! We made sure to buy a few wines before leaving.

On Sunday we went to Linden Vineyards for their Pre-release of 2020 wines tasting and barrel tasting of the 2023 reds. My favorite was Shari’s 2023 merlot barrel sample. I know it will all go into blends but I think it would make a great stand alone wine. The pre-release wines we tasted were the 2020 Avenius Red and the 2020 Hardscrabble Red. Jim told us about the growing season and how the wines were developed and blended. We always learn things while listening to Jim. We had a great time with friends at this tasting.

Our final stop of the weekend was Capstone Vineyards. I had a club pick up and we decided to chat with Theo and do a tasting. Theo surprised us with a taste of the 2015 Merlot! He only had two bottles left and opened one for us to taste! It was amazing! I tried to get him to sell me the last bottle but he wouldn’t. We also met some new wine friends while tasting at Capstone. Richard and Heather were fun to chat with and share our experiences with Virginia wines. It’s always fun to catch up with Theo while tasting.

What a wonderful wine weekend!

Dinner Wine

/ Paul / Leave a comment

On Friday evening we decided to enjoy filet mignon with a mushroom sauce and sautéed potatoes. As usual, Warren was the chef and everything was delicious. Our wine of choice was the 2012 Hardscrabble from Linden Vineyards.

The wine paired nicely with the filets. We noted dark seed berries, cedar, spice, a whiff of dried herbs and a hint of sandalwood. We thought it was a wonderfully smooth and elegant wine. It’s always fun to pull an older bottle wine from the rack to see how it’s progressing in the bottle. We think the 2012 could last a few more years on the rack. If you have it, consider enjoying it now or holding on to it for another few years.

If you haven’t been to Linden Vineyards lately, plan a trip soon. And when you do visit, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Winter Tasting at Linden

/ Paul / 2 Comments

On a recent Saturday we made reservations for a tasting at Linden Vineyards. We hadn’t visited Linden since December so it was time to return and see what was on the Winter Tasting menu.

It’s always fun to walk in the tasting room and see familiar faces. Emma was full of hellos and hugs. Our tasting associate however was new to us. I believe her name was Becky. She gave us the Winter Tasting menu and poured our first taste. It was the 2018 Village Chardonnay. After the Village (which was very good by the way) the tasting continued with comparative tastings of the following:

2019 Avenues Chardonnay
2019 Hardscrabble Chardonnay

2014 Petit Verdot
2019 Petit Verdot

2017 Hardscrabble Red
2019 Hardscrabble Red

If you’ve been to Linden before you know that all Jim’s wines are very well crafted and you won’t find one you won’t enjoy. We thought the choices for the comparative tastings were perfect. We enjoyed them all.

What did we select to pair with our lunch items? After looking over the full list of wines available, we decided to have the 2014 Boisseau Chardonnay. We brought sliced ham and turkey, hard cheeses, crackers and almonds for lunch. The 2014 Boisseau Chardonnay paired nicely with our lunch items. While finishing up the last glass, Jim came over and joined us for some wine conversation. It’s always fun to catch up with Jim while we are enjoying his wines.

Before leaving we bought some of our favorites and said our goodbyes. If you haven’t been to Linden lately it’s too late to enjoy the Winter Tasting. However, Jim informed us the Spring Tasting would begin the next weekend. We’ll have to return to enjoy the Spring Tasting. Plan a trip to Linden soon to enjoy the Spring Tasting and tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Linden Vineyards

/ Paul / Leave a comment

What a beautiful day it was on Saturday! We went to Linden Vineyards after several months of being away and started off with some wine flights. They have both a red flight and a white flight so we decided to share one of each.

The white flight consisted of the 2018 Village Chardonnay, the 2017 Village Chardonnay, the 2017 Wabi Sabi and the newly released 2019 Boisseau Viognier. We loved them all but our favorite of the flight was the 2017 Village Chardonnay. We enjoyed the pear and apple notes as well as the round mouth feel. We’ll enjoy this one for years. The 2019 Boisseau Viiognier was also a favorite. It was floral, creamy, rounded mouth feel, tropical fruit and a lengthy finish.

The red flight consisted of the 2016 Claret, the 2016 Petit Verdot, the 2016 Avenius Red and the 2016 Hardscrabble Red. Again, all of them were very good but our favorite this time was the 2016 Avenius Red. We noted juicy cherry and dusty tannins. We expect this one to last several more years as well.

After enjoying the samples we decided to enjoy the library carafe of the 2013 Avenius Red – it’s in a good place! You can enjoy it now or later. We noted savory flavors and less fruit.

We enjoyed a bottle of the 2017 village Chardonnay with our lunch items of Mediterranean pasta salad, olives, various cheeses, crackers and flatbreads. Warren noted the 2013 Avenius red paired well with his Mediterranean pasta salad. We had a nice relaxing lunch and even had a chance to chat with Jim Law. He told us all about the new solar field they recently installed. You can’t miss it as you enter the parking lot. It’s a great addition to the vineyards.

Jim informed us the wines on the tasting menu will be changing soon. We look forward to returning to taste the new offerings. We left with our favorites to add to the wine rack. We always enjoy visiting Linden! If you visit them soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!