Wine: Barboursville Vineyards 2002 Octagon



Review: This is the 6th edition of the Barboursville Ocatagon. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc. This is the fourth Virginia Meritage blend that I have tried, and, and it was very good. The 2001 Octagon actually won "Best in Show" at the 23rd Annual Virginia Wine Competition.

The wine has the remnants of heavy tannins that have mellowed over the last 4 years. It is a deep, rich color with an aroma of plum and tobacco. It is a very complex wine, with great depth and a smooth finish.

Price: $30

Grade: 90

If you live in the DC area and want to enjoy some good wine and help a good cause, I suggest attending the Blind Wine Tasting of Old Town. Tickets are $50 a piece and you will get to sample wine from local wineries and food from local restaurants. A friend of mine attended this event last year and said it was a lot of fun and pretty casual -- which is good, because I hate wearing a tie :).

Best of all, you can help a really good organization.

Wine: Horton Vineyards Sparkling Viognier



Review: This sparkling wine is a blend of 80% Viognier and 20% Chardonnay, It was cellared in 1998 and degorged in 2001. It is dry (Brut) style with very fruity flavors. It was a smooth wine, with small bubbles that really cleansed the palate and it was a great companion to the Salmon.

Price: $25

Grade: 90

A friend of mine sent me this article about Jean-Luc Thunevin. It is an interesting take on the ongoing battle over the soul of Bordeaux, but to refer to Thunevin a "garage" wine maker when he is selling over a million bottles a year seems silly. Yes, that is where he got his start, but he is clearly not operating that way now.

Friday night I hosted a wine and BBQ party. For you cityfolk, when I say BBQ I am referring to a specific type of dish. In this case pork cooked in a Vinegar-based sauce. Although, there was grilling involved, BBQ does not equal grilling.

The Vintner recommended some Virginia semi-dry reds, which went really well with the BBQ. I also added a couple of whites and a bottle of peach wine that I made last year.

I measured the popularity of the wine based on how much was left in each bottle, results are below the pictures:





Waterford Vineyards 2004 Chambourcin -- 33% gone.
Loudoun Valley 2001 Dynasty -- 90% gone.
Madison of Virginia Shiraz -- 66% gone.
Horton 2004 Viognier -- 100% gone.
Stillhouse Vineyards 2004 Seyval Blanc -- 100% gone.
Steindorfer 1997 Eiswein Cuvee Klaus -- 100% gone.
Veramar Rooster Red Table Wine -- 40% gone.
Diablo Creek 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon -- 66% gone.
Home Brew 2005 Peach Wine -- 100% gone.
Home Brew 2003 Pear Mead -- 100% gone.

I missed OTBN this year, or more specifically, I waited a week and a half or so to participate.



I won't post my usual detailed review for those two wines, but I have been dying to try them and they did not disappoint. I made a London Broil marinated in a Hoisin BBQ sauce with a side of steamed asparagus and rice, keeping the dinner simple so it would not overwhelm the Bordeaux.

The Bordeaux was fantastic, once it had a chance to decant, it only needed a couple of minutes before it was smooth and very rich.

It took me a while to come up with the perfect dessert for the Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine, but I finally found it: Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake (from the Cheesecake Factory, of course). The latter was a perfect complement to the wine, which was sweet, with hints of strawberries and raspberries.

It was a fantastic dinner, and a great evening.

Wine: Fabbioli Cellars 2004 Tre Sorelle



Review: Doug Fabbioli is the winemaker at Windham Winery. He also has his own winery, and produces three wines, all of which are offered for tasting at Windham. The Tre Sorelle is Bordeaux-style consisting of 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot.

The wine has a very deep color with strong aromas of black cherries and olives. It has a flavor that matches its strong presentation, with a spicy bite to it and a heavy taste. It is a little young, but I think in a couple of years it will be a great wine.

Price: $24

Grade: 85

On Monday I went to an Austrian wine tasting sponsored by Planet Wine in Arlington. I had never tried Austrian wines before, so I was excited to have the opportunity. The wines were mostly white with a couple of, in my opinion, too young reds thrown into the mix.

Riesling was especially popular amongst the winemakers and the taste was unique. Compared to German Rieslings, these tended to be sweeter (though, not all of them) and less flavorful. In addition to the Rieslings, there were a lot of light whites that would be good on a summer evening sitting out on a deck.

The highlight of the evening, for me, was the 1997 Steindorfer Eiswein Cuvee Klaus. I love a good ice wine and this was it. I was shocked at the vintage, a 9 year old ice wine is not something you normally see, but it was rich, with crisp flavor, and very smooth -- a perfect desert wine. The best part is that the 375 ml bottle was only $29.

My apologies again for the dearth posts, a lot of wine stuff going on, several posts coming up over the next couple of days, stay tuned.

Windham produces a lot of really good wines. Readers of this blog know that I am particularly fond of their reds. Despite my love of their wines, I have never been out to their winery. This past Sunday I finally managed to make it out to their winery to help them celebrate the Vernal Equinox (yea, yea, I know, a couple of weeks early but I will take any excuse I can to sacrifice a virgin ;)), The tasting was really good, I was poured by Doug Fabbioli, the winemaker, and so got a lot of details about the wine.







In addition to their wines, I also tried a creation from Doug's personal vineyard called Tre Sorelle -- I'll post a review of it shortly. All-in-all, a great fun time.

Wine: Loudoun Valley Vineyards 2001 Dynasty



Review: This is a Bordeaux-style wine comprised of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. A complex wine with strong aromas and a taste of berries. It is a spicy wine, with a lingering taste. Not as smooth as you might expect given its age, but overall still a good wine.

Price: $20

Grade: 90