WBW75 — Singles Night with Tranquility from Virginia

Wine Blogging Wednesday 75 — Singles Night with Tranquility from Virginia

Today marks the 75th monthly installment (that’s like um over six years) of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) and our host for this month’s WBW75 is my favorite Playboy.com wine columnist, Joe Roberts, also known as 1 Wine Dude.

Our charge for this month’s virtual wine gathering is to procure a wine produced from grapes grown in a single vineyard, taste it, and write about it.

The choice of wines was simple — given the early summer-like temperatures here in Virginia the last few weeks I’ve had my share of crisp whites and sparkling wines.  Bison burgers on the grill call for a red, and our single-vineyard wine pairing of choice is Three2One’s Tranquility 2009 Red Blend.

Three2One is a collaborative wine project of ‘Three Winemakers’ — Jordan Harris from Tarara Winery, Ben Renshaw from 8 Chains North, and Clyde Housel of Hiddencroft Vineyards — made from ‘Two Grapes’ — Cabernet Sauvignon (~ 80%) and Tannat (~20%) — from ‘One Vineyard’ – Tranquility.

Tranquility Vineyard — located in Purcellville, VA is part of Virginia’s Loudoun County wine region (no AVA yet) — is a seven-acre vineyard planted in 1999.  Tranquility soil is primarily Pennsylvania Silt Loam, and sits about 510 feet above sea level and was initially planted to four acres of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The vineyard was expanded with one acre of Tannat in 2005 followed by 1 3/4 acres of Pinot Gris in 2007.

I first tasted Tranquility at the initial release party last June (see post here), tasted again in the fall, and another last night for WBW75.  It’s interesting to compare my tasting notes from the summer, fall, and last night, and to experience this wine’s evolution.

My June tasting note for Tranquility; Dark purple in the glass, Tranquility has a nose of blackberry jam, baked plum, wood, and hints of an herbal component (couldn’t place exact herb).   In the mouth it has loads of baked fruits and satiny tannins.  I really appreciated the balance of such a youngin.

Still dark purple in the glass with blackberry jam and baked plum, but I pick up a nice sage component and baking spices throughout.  The ‘wood‘ components were not as pungent as I recall when I first tasted in June and in the fall.  This wine is like the husky, short kid in elementary school — just needs a few years to mature, grow a little and slim down.  Still a youngin in need of some more time in the bottle, but this wine is evolving nicely.  Sadly I only have one more bottle left, so it may be a couple years before I uncork the last one.

I believe this wine is $40 $45 per bottle, but I purchased along with a couple other wines and received an industry discount, which I believe was 25% or 30%.

A big ol virtual hat tip to Joe for hosting this month – excellent topic!

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 – Viognier, Where Rhone Meets Virginia

Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 – Viognier, Where Rhone Meets Virginia – Showcasing The Potential of Virginia Wine

Today marks the second month of the Wine Blogging Wednesday comeback – the 71st monthly installment.   Our host for Wine Blogging Wednesday 71 is Tim Elliot of Wine Cast, and our theme this month is Rhones Not From The Rhone.  More specifically, we were charged with picking ‘any wine made from a variety best known in The Rhône but not made in that famous French region. It doesn’t matter if the wine is white, pink or red; still, sparkling or fortified. Whatever you choose, just needs to be made from primarily a Rhone grape and come from a region not in France.

Oh ouais! A great excuse to pop the cork on one of my favorite Viognier’s from my home state – which is producing amazing examples of this beauty from the Rhone – the Jefferson Vineyards 2009 Viognier.

Viognier is ‘the’ grape of the Condrieu region, located in the northern Rhone.   Many serious wine enthusiasts know Condrieu as home to the AOC within the AOC, Chateau-Grillet – that famous 9 acres single winery sanctuary to Chateau-Grillet, one of the more notable Viognier producers in the world.  By most accounts, Condrieu is considered the epicenter of Viognier, and I do tend to agree in terms of long-term age worthiness, but ~3,700 miles away, my home state of Virginia is also producing excellent examples of this varietal.  The Condrieu AOC has roughly 330 acres under Viognier vine, and Virginia currently has 149 acres under Viognier vine (according to 2008 Commercial Grape Report).

One winery in particular that is producing a great example of Virginia Viognier is Jefferson Vineyards.  Unlike it’s peers from Condrieu, Virginia Viognier (for the most part) isn’t jacked up on heavy oak, so more of the white flowers, honeysuckle, peach, and apricot components shine.

The Jefferson Vineyards property, located in Charlottesville, VA, spans 650 acres, 25 of which are under vine.  Jefferson Vineyard’s is located right smack dab in the middle of Virginia and Revolutionary history, located just one mile south of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and near James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highlands.   Two hundred years ago, the land currently occupied by Jefferson Vineyards was home to vineyards planted by Jefferson wine friend, Philip Mazzei.  Although the vines Mazzei planted (some say for Jefferson) resulted in no commercial success, the land is rich with history.

Sign outside Jefferson Vineyards entrance - Colle, Philip Mazzei's estate adjacent to Jefferson's Monticello.

Of particular note about Jefferson Vineyards is a valuable piece of intellectual property – the signature that adorns this bottle, ‘Th. Jefferson.’  Jefferson Vineyards is the only winery in the world that is able to use Thomas Jefferson’s signature on their bottles.  (Shameless self-promotion:  Read more about Thomas Jefferson’s wine experiences in a previous series, ’30 Days of Thomas Jefferson On Wine‘)

“We grow grapes and we make wine.  That’s all we do, and we do it very well.” ~ Jefferson Vineyards

Jefferson 2009 Viognier, $24 – Like WBW70, I am on the road again for this month’s WBW, so I was ended up pairing the star of tonight’s WBW with room service – a bland salad with shrimp.  Gold colored in the glass, this wine is like a floral, apricot, and mineral threesome with the mineral relegated mainly to watching.  The apricot is overwhelming and dominates the wine, in a good way, with hints of peach Sweetarts in the mouth.   Weighty texture with light apricot syrup on the finish.  Interesting to note about this wine, in looking back at my tasting notes for this wine, every bottle of this wine that I’ve made notes on I’ve picked up a pronounced nutmeg component in the glass after when emptied.

A big ol virtual hat tip to Tim at Wine Cast for hosting this month – excellent topic!  For those attending Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 in Charlottesville, you’ll no doubt taste a lot of Viognier during your time in Virginia!

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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The Return: Wine Blogging Wednesday 70 – Spanish Wine

Wine Blogging Wednesday 70 – Spanish Wine – A Cool, Unique Find!

Today marks the return of Wine Blogging Wednesday to the blogosphere – the 70^th monthly installment.  I’m glad to see WBW return from the brief hiatus since this monthly virtual tasting is a great way for wine folks to interact and make new connections.  Back in the day I participated nearly every month and always looked forward to the interaction and learning more about other’s wine preferences and tastes.  I even hosted the next to last WBW #68 – Got Gamay? (I’m thinking there is no correlation to my hosting and the WBW hiatus that ensued.)

Our hosts for the return of WBW70 are Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of Catavino – an excellent site dedicated to providing information on the wines of the Iberian Peninsula.  For this month’s WBW we were charged with flexing our creative muscles and seeking out a Spanish wine we’ve never had before.   An interesting theme to be sure.

Since I’m in New Mexico this week, finding that right bottle for the tasting took several visits to Albuquerque ‘wine shops‘ (irrelevant side note:  Interesting how many liquor stores call themselves wine shops in New Mexico).  On my third stop, I found an interesting Spanish wine that I’ve never had before and thought would make an excellent entry for this month’s WBW – a 100% Petit Verdot from the Jumilla region.  A very cool and unique find in my book!

I’m a huge fan of the oft under-rated Petit Verdot, and have had many from other regions, but this is my first time tasting a 100% Petit Verdot from Spain.  Petit Verdot is one of the six noble grapes of Bordeaux, but is often relegated to second string as a blending grape (in small amounts) used to add tannin, flavor and in particular color to a blend.  This little beauty of a grape seems to thrive in my home state of Virginia and is growing in popularity amongst winemakers and consumers here.

Nudo 2007 Petit Verdot Private Collection, $16.99 – Since I’m on the road this week, I paired this with pre-grilled steak and pesto from WholeFoods, and Tyler Cowen’s newly released 15,000 word essay, The Great Stagnation.    Deep dark purple in the glass, this wine had a nose of dark berries, some funky funk (I like) earthiness, violets, and spice.  In the mouth, this was much lighter than expected with cedar, dark cherry, and even pepper notes.  Perhaps I’m just too partial to Virginia Petit Verdot, but I was expecting more from this wine – more character, more tannin, more, well… Petit Verdot.   I enjoyed this wine from the perspective of trying a varietal that I dig from a new ‘place,’ but I’m not sure I’ll would seek this particular bottle out again.   

I do plan to revisit this bottle tomorrow night, but am not expecting too much change.

I wish I had planned further ahead and found this wine sooner so I could have a Virginia-Spain Petit Verdot comparative tasting. 

Hat tip to Lenn Thompson for brining back Wine Blogging Wednesday, and to Ryan and Gabriella for an interesting theme this month.  Looking forward to many more monthly WBW episodes!

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Questions, Comments, Complaints, Random Observations? Contact Me Here

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WBW 68 – Got Gamay? Recap

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the 68^th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday.  I appreciate your patience, as I am quite tardy with posting this recap.  A special thank you to the New York blogging contingent that came out in a big way for this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday.  The number of high-quality, educational blogs in NY is impressive.

I would like to start the recap with a special welcome to a new WBW participant – Corinne from Life’s A Banquet! For this edition of WBW, Corinne went with a local Gamay from the Finger Lakes – 2007 Gamay Sheldrake Point.  Good call on the home made margherita pizza.

Tom from NY-based Ithacork also went with the Sheldrake Point Gamay 2007.  Great review, especially the diacetyl information – clearly a Chemical Engineering PhD candidate.

Also joining us from NY, Michael of Undertaking Wine chose a local Gamay from Long Island – Pindar Vineyards 2008 Gamay Noir.

Rounding out the NY contingent, Debbie from Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, also went local with a Gamay Noir from the Hudson Valley area – 2007 Whitecliff Gamay Noir.  Thanks for joining us Debbie, and not losing the sticky note this month…

Matt from a A Good Time With Wine provided our lone video entry – he went with a Chiroubles from Domaine Ruet.  Although Matt noted that he is not much fonder of Gamay, he did enjoy reviewing this wine and will likely try other Cru Beaujolais in the future.  I’ve had this particular Chiroubles before and liked it. Thank you, Matt for  the informative video entry!

My friend and favorite Wine Blogger Conference alumni, Marcy Gordon from Come For The Wine, went with a Morgon – the 2008 Jean Foillard Morgon Cote Du Py.  I’ve had this particular wine several times and have always liked it.

Bob at 2001 Bottles – A Wine Odyssey from Vancouver, BC went with a Gamay from Canada’s Similkameen Valley, and two Cru Beaujolais – a Cote de Brouilly and a Fleurie.  Thanks Bob for overachieving by selecting three Gamay’s and pairing with a meal. (Sad to hear you won’t be joining the Gamay fetish club.)

Fellow Virginia wine blogger, Swirl, Sip, Snark went with one of my favorite’s, the G. Descombe Morgon along with the 07 Domaine des Michelons Moulin-a-Vent (which I’ve never had).

Fellow Drink Local Wine Conference attendee, Dave Falcheck of Empty Bottles, joined us with several Cru Beaujolais. I had a great time hanging out with Dave tasting wine at DLW – great palate.

Travis from Pull The Cork did join us by sharing a wine lesson he learned while visiting France two summers ago.

Peter from Mano a Vino went with a Loire – Domaine Sauvete Gamay Les Gravouilles – and paired it with Thai food (interesting pairing that I’ll have to try)

The Wine Predator, Gwen, joined us with one of my favorite value wines – Louis Jadot Beaujolais.

Gary Vaynerchuk also participated, albeit a few days late due to his hectic schedule.  After finalizing the theme for WBW 68, I contacted Gary with the deets and asked him to participate since he hadn’t dedicated a show to the Gamay since episode 570.  Gary quickly replied and agreed that he needed to do another Cru Beaujolais show.  Thanks to Kristen Murphy for trading so many emails and pulling together the Cru Beaujolais episode (#852).  Gary went with a Fleurie, a Moulin A Vent, and St. Amour.  I believe the 2007 Chapelle Des Bois Fleurie was the standout of the show.

Last but not least, we were able to tear Wine Blogging Wednesday founder Lenn Thompson away from New York wines this month.  Although Gamay is grown in NY, Lenn has yet to find one that impressed him, so he went to one of his favorite areas – Loire – Clos Roche Blanche 2007 Cuvee Gamay Touraine. (Nothing beats a great Chinon either, eh?)

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

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