Wine: Fabbioli Cellars 2005 Tre Sorelle



Review: In 2006, when I reviewed the 2004 vintage of this wine, Doug was just getting started with his own winery. Two and half years later Fabbioli Cellars is a must-visit on the Loudoun wine trail.

A friend of mine was having a bad day at work on Friday. I keep a small wine rack on my desk usually stocked with 3 or 4 bottles, so I called her down to split a bottle of the Tre Sorrelle and vent.

The 2005 Tre Sorrele is a blend of 65% Merlot, 20% Tannat and 15% Petit Verdot. This is a spicy wine with a strong oaky taste and black currant flavors. It has aged well and has a soft finish with light tannins.

A good wine to enjoy on a bad Friday or any other time.

Price: $24

Grade: 85

Wine: 2007 8 Chains North Lo.Co. Vino



Review: A chain is a agricultural unit of measurement equal to 66 feet. 8 Chains North gets its name from the fact that it is 8 chains north of Colonel White's river fields (according to the bottle -- I can't tell you why that is significant) ;)).

This is a good summer wine and an excellent wine to enjoy with light cheeses. It is a blend of 50% Traminette and 50% Vidal Blanc. It is a light wine, very crispy with a very light aftertaste. It has hints of pears and honeysuckle. If you don't have any cheese around, it is a good sipping wine all by itself. You can pick up a bottle at Fabbioli.

Price: $18

Grade: 95

I am almost embarrassed to post this because it happened so long ago, but I cannot resist telling you about some great wines. Back in April, Doug hosted a release tasting at Fabbioli. The release did not just include his wines, but also wines from two other local vineyards and all three winemakers were on hand.

Each wine was paired with an item especially prepared by Chef Aaron Daniels. There were 4 wines released: Fabbioli's Cabernet Sauvignon, a mild wine with strong flavors of oak that lingers on the palette and a hint of pepper. Fabbioli also released their Black Raspberry Port. If you are thinking, "Black Raspberry Port, can that possibly be as good as it sounds and where can I get some?" It was fantastic, so good in fact that Doug sold out of his entire production run that day.

From North Gate Vineyards we were able to sample their newly released Merlot. The Merlot was barrel-aged in French oak for 18 months, creating a flavorful, complex wine with the taste of cherries and an earthy feel to it. A very excellent Merlot, on par with what most wineries would consider their reserve.

Furnace Mountain Vineyards (no website) introduced us to their 8 Chain's North Lo.Co. Vino an excellent blend of Traminette and Vidal Blanc -- I'll have more details on this wine in a future review.

A great day and a chance to enjoy some really good wines.

Doug Fabbioli, a local winemaker I have often mentioned is in the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers.

Looking to celebrate Mardi Gras with some Virginia wine this weekend? You are in luck, both Fabbioli Cellars and Breaux Vineyards are having Mardi Gras celebrations on Saturday (Feb. 2nd).

The wine club will be at the Fabbioli celebration, en masse, but both events look like a lot of fun!

I know this is late, but I went to Vintage Virginia on June 2nd with the wine club. I am getting more turned off by the larger festivals. While it is nice to have such a variety of vineyards to choose from, and it gives me a chance to try some of the more obscure Virginia wineries, it is hard to really enjoy the wines with so many people thronged around the tasting tents.

One highlight from the festival, and a wine I did get a chance to savor, was the 2006 Fabbioli Cabernet Franc. It has the spicy kick that I like in a Cabernet Franc, a great nose and stays on the palette for a while. It was a little young when I tasted it, but should be great in another 6 months or so.

Doug said that he has had several restaurants buy cases of it untasted. Smart move on their part, given his success with the Tre Sorelle and Raspberry Merlot.

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

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.