Tags
#DrinkLocal, Glen Manor, Governor's Cup, Potomac Point Vineyard, Rappahannock Cellars, RdV, RdV Vineyards, VaWine, Virginia Wine, Virginia Wine Blog, Virginia Wineworks
The Virginia Wineries Association’s 2013 Virginia Governor’s Cup Winner is…
Barboursville 2009 Octagon
Congratulations to Luca and the entire Barboursville team — very well done!
The 2013 competition marks the 31st Virginia Governor’s Cup and the second year of the new format under the leadership of head judge Jay Youmans, MW (see my interview with Jay about the new Governor’s Cup competition format, here).
Barboursville’s Octagon received the highest total score of the twenty 2013 Virginia Governor’s Cup Gold Medalists that were announced last week:
- Barboursville Vineyards, 2009 Octagon
- Bluemont Vineyard, 2010 Cabernet Franc
- Cooper Vineyards, 2010 Petit Verdot Reserve
- Glen Manor, 2010 Hodder Hill
- Keswick Vineyards, 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
- King Family Vineyards, 2010 Meritage (unfiltered)
- Lovingston Winery, 2009 Josie’s Knoll Estate Reserve Meritage
- Philip Carter Winery, 2010 Cleve (Petit Verdot, Tannat)
- Pollak Vineyards, 2009 Cabernet Franc Reserve
- Potomac Point Vineyad & Winery, 2010 Richland Reserve Heritage Red
- Rappahannock Cellars, 2010 Meritage
- RdV Vineyards, 2010 Rendevous (Meritage)
- RdV Vineyards, 2010 Lost Mountain (Meritage)
- Shenandoah Vineyards, 2010 Cabernet Franc
- Shenandoah Vineyards, 2010 Rhapsody in Red
- Sunset Hills Vineyard, 2010, Mosaic Red
- Trump Winery, 2008 Sparkling Rose
- Virginia Wineworks, 2010 Shaps Wild Meadow Vineyard
- Virginia Wineworks, 2010 Cabernet Franc, Carter’s Mountain Vineyard
- Virginia Wineworks, 2008, Cabernet Franc, Red Hill Reserve
By my count, 18 reds, one white and one sparkling wine received gold medals this year. Bordeaux styled red blends dominated this year’s top scores with ten gold medals, followed by eight Meritages, five Cabernet Francs, two Petit Verdots, and one Cabernet Sauvignon. One Chardonnay represented the whites.
Interesting — and not surprising to some — not one Viognier in the bunch. Last year, at least Viognier made a cameo appearance on the gold medal podium in the Tarara Honah Lee White blend. What does the lack of gold mean for Virginia’s Signature Grape. (I have a post forthcoming about this based on discussion with judges.)
Along with the other 11 highest scored wines in this year’s competition, Octagon will be part of the ‘Virginia Governor’s Case,’ which will be used to showcase and promote Virginia’s top wines to wine media over the next year.
The 2013 Virginia Governor’s Case includes:
- Barboursville Vineyards, 2009 Octagon
- Cooper Vineyards, 2010 Petit Verdot Reserve
- King Family Vineyards, 2010 Meritage (unfiltered)
- Lovingston Winery, 2009 Josie’s Knoll Estate Reserve
- Philip Carter Winery, 2010 Cleve (Petit Verdot, Tannat)
- Pollak Vineyards, 2009 Cabernet Franc Reserve
- Potomac Point Vineyad & Winery, 2010 Richland Reserve Heritage
- Rappahannock Cellars, 2010 Meritage
- RdV Vineyards, 2010 Rendevous
- RdV Vineyards, 2010 Lost Mountain
- Sunset Hills Vineyard, 2010, Mosaic
- Trump Winery, 2008 Sparkling Rose
For reference — Each wine was evaluated based on appearance, aroma, flavor, overall quality, and commercial suitability and scored as follows:
Medals were awarded based on the following average of scores:
- Gold Medal – Outstanding/Classic, 90-100 points
- Silver Medal – Very Good, 85-89 points
- Bronze Medal – Good, 80-84 points
A big congratulations on all the 2013 Virginia Governor’s Cup medalists!
__________________________
Drink What YOU Like 
The case only includes 2 red varietal bottles. The rest are all blends. I will be interested to read your post about Viognier (and whites in general) and why we see these results.
Hi Kurt! Now that we have two years behind us, the results are interesting (or, telling) but still too early in this new format to conclude on trends. Viognier is a completely different story in my mind. I’m nearly done with that follow up piece. Cheers!
I believe when it comes to the whites, specially Viognier, its a timing issue. Looking forward to your article.
Just looked at the silver and bronze medal winners. A few “strange” results.
Can’t wait to read about the mysterious disappearance of Viognier from the top winners. It obviously means the wineries are doing an awesome job with other grapes, but I am still surprised there wasn’t at least one.