Henry Reidy of Strawberry Street Vineyard turned me on to these two very good wines from Virginia.
Linden Caret 2004 and Veritas Monticello 2006 Sauvignon Blanc
These wines demonstrate Virginia Winemaker's ability to make world class juice.
Virginia winemakers have had their struggles producing good wine. Fortunately their persistence of many decades, actually centuries, has paid off.
Starting in the early 1600s they had little success until the 1800s. This success was disrupted by the Civil War which wiped out the wine business along with the rest of the state’s economy.
"Later in the century, the concept of prohibition gained wide support in Virginia, stifling any revival of wine making, and by World War I, the state had gone dry. In 1919, the federal Eighteenth Amendment made national the ban on the import, export, manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors."
In the late 20th century wine making began to really flourish "There were six Virginia wineries in 1976, and more than seventy by 2002. Virginia ranked tenth in the nation in volume, and its wines were winning national and international acclaim—almost four centuries after the sailing of the first Jamestown fleet. " Romancing the Vine in Virginia
Veritas Monticello 2006 Sauvignon Blanc is a bright and sharply tantalizingly fruity wine comparable to some of the best Sauvignon Blancs coming from New Zealand. Produced by Veritas Vineyard in Afton.
One taster described it this way "Pristine in clarity, with the pallid yellow of winter sunshine, the 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, has a tantalizing aroma of tropical fruit, white flowers, lime, citrus and passion fruit. Bracing freshness clears the palate which is mouthwateringly juicy with endless flavors of lime, sherbert, grapefruit, passion fruit, honey and almonds leaving a yearning desire for more....Wine that is. Pairs with anything delicate from the sea, oysters, lobster and caviar or explodes the taste of Chevre, Manchego paired with apricots, nuts and olives.
I enjoyed this wine. But, the Claret was my favorite of the two.
You know that Claret is a phrased coined by the British to market red Bordeaux wine. The 2004 Claret, by Linden Vineyards in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a classic Bordeaux style wine with a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Petit Verdot,13% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Only 655 cases produced.
I think this wine is spectacular.
I grew up in Appalachia, but I've been away a while. I had no idea VA was producing wines! I'm still expanding my wine palate (I'm terribly finicky about the taste) but real VA wine has to be a step or two up from Boone's Farm, at least. ;)
Posted by: curiousdomestic | 03/25/2009 at 15:01