By the Bottle

From the amateur wine pallets of myself and UnderComplicated, welcome to “By the Bottle,” a review page of wines we’ve tried and thought worthy of sharing (for whatever reason). Organized by type, with overall impressions and–if we remember–what we paired it with if we did so. We will not be including Trader Joe’s Two-Buck-Chucks, but we do still drink those, and encourage you to, as well. These are wines we purchase, receive as gifts, or get via a wine club at discounts. Prices are what you’ll pay in our area for these.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment. (Note: This is just getting started, and it’s been a bit since we’ve had some of these first additions. The goal is to try to update shortly after tasting.

Local Whites:

Lovingston Petit Manseng, 2008. Lovingston Winery.  $13.00/bottle. Unfortunately, this is sold out (we and the party I was with bought most of the remaining bottles, I think).  They will have a new one coming out in the spring, I and I highly recommend you snap up as many as you can. We’re going to. I am not a white drinker, and this made a convert of me. From their tasting notes, which were so excellent I couldn’t write better: ” Just slightly off-dry at 3% residual sugar. Displays a beautiful balance of fruit and acidity. Serves well as an aperitif and with spicy dishes.”  This wine, and all of them from this winery, had a long, smooth finish. While I expect that from good reds, I rarely get it with whites. Wonderful, 5 stars.

Pollak Vineyards Durant White. Crisp and clean, with apple on the nose and pallet. Dry, with a longish finish for a white. Perfect with a cheese plate, but we took a dive and paired it with herb crusted chicken and it was great.

Local Reds:

Breaux Vineyards Meritage, 2002. Wine club. One of the best Meritage’s I’ve ever had.  Beautiful, inky color. Rich nose of plum, dark cherry, caramel, currant, and tobacco. The caramel and plum linger on the palate in the bold wine, along with a bit of the leather and tobacco. It finishes long and soft. This wine is so large that I thought there’s be alcohol on the tongue, but it’s round and smooth. Excellent. We didn’t pair it with food, but it would stand up to almost anything.

Hidden Croft Chambourcin, 2008. $22. Coming soon.

Hidden Croft Cabernet Frac, 2008. $23. Coming soon.

Lovingston Cabernet Frac, 2007. $13.00/bottle.  Again, this winery turns out a superior wine, at a price that is well below it’s value.  And again, I can’t top their tasting notes: “Opaque in the glass, displays a nose of rich dried cherries, and is best when decanted and allowed to breath for at least an hour. Tastes of cassis and black fruits, with a slightly spicy finsih that lingers. Can be aged at least 10-15 years.” We’re going back to buy more for aging.

Lovingston Rotunda Red, 2007. $14.00/bottle. Blen of 80% Chambourcin and 20%  Tannat (a new grape to my palate). This wine is a gorgeous, deep plum color in the glass. It’s warm, spicy, cinnamon.  There’s a hint of that same plum in the wine, and it finishes long but soft.  Great.

Lovingston Merlot, 2006. $15.00/bottle. This wine is from grapes completely from their vineyard. It’s my second favorite of thier spectacular reds.  Their tasting notes: “Balnced nose of bright red fruits and mild oak hins. This wine packs a punch on the palate with ripe fruit flavors of cherries and currants, particularly if allowed to breathe for an hour or so. Aging potention of approximately 10 years, but ready to drink now.” And is it ever! We had a difficult time not asking for the rest of the bottle at the tasting.

Lovingston Reserve Merlot, 2006. $19.00/bottle. This wine is one of the most spectacular I’ve tasted anywhere, local or otherwise, and is worth far more than it’s current price tag. Grab a case for your cellar while the prices are still this low, because I have to believe they’re going to be raised. From their notes: ” Best of the 2006 Merlot, this is a supple, elegant wine with a full-bodied finish that continues long after it leaves the palate. Pairs wonderfully with steaks and other meat entrees such as osso buco and grileld leg of lamb. Cellar through 2020.” I can’t write enough wonderful things about this wine. It’s a thoughtful wine, one that invites you to sip and it areally delve into it’s complexity.

Old House Vineyards, an Samhradh. (price undertermined, gift from UC).  This deep, rich, smoky wine is spectacular. One taste made it an instant favorite, and I can’t wait to go back and get more. If you’ve never been to Old House, you should go. We have M & D to thank for introducing us to this fabulous vintner.

Otium Cellars, Blaufrankish, 2009. $22. We purchased this wine at 8 Chains North. I believe Otium is planning on opening their own tasting room, but I am unsure when.  This needs a really, really long decant or it’s tight and unpleasant. Once decanted, however, it’s a strong stand-alone with a long and smokey finish. More coming after we open the bottle we brought home. Check back.

Veritas Claret. Coming Soon.

Local Dessert Wines, Specialties, Etc.

Fabioli Rosa Nera. $32.00. This is an incredible desert wine in the port style, and worth the price.  Full of blackberry flavor, sweet but not syrupy. One of the best I’ve had in VA. We paired it with Thadd’s 30th birthday cake, which was a homemade Black Forest.

Old House’s New Release. I’ve tasted this, and will have a bottle for a more in-depth review shortly. The tasting was quite good, probably the best port-style I’ve had in VA yet. There’s a *very* limited quantity of this, so if you’re interested, head out there soon or it’ll be gone!

Rebec Vineyard’s Landmark Sweet. While they don’t sell it as a dessert wine, it is. And, at about $12/bottle, it’s a good deal on a dessert wine.

Rebec Vineyard’s Sweet Sophia. This sweet white gets a positive review mostly because I think it will pair really well with certain types of food. You can actually taste the spices (rosemary, sage, tarragon, etc.), which would also make it an interesting wine to use in a reduction for, say, a topping for grilled peaches.

Syrahs:

-Rockblock, NoSo Syrah. 2004. $35.00 Recommended by “The Frenchman’s Corner” sommelier Jeff, who said it was the wine he opened when he didn’t have to share. This was excellent! We paired it with dark and rich chocolates, and the richness of the wine was a fantastic complement. Clean finish. More to come on this when we get another bottle.

Pinot Noirs:

-Paul Cluver, Elgin. Estate Wine. 2003. $21.99. Amazing wine. Current favorite of this genre. Both worked well. I’ll have to come back to this later, as it’s been a bit since we’ve had it and the specifics are eluding me.

Cabernet Sauvignons:

-Joel Gott, California. Blend 815. 2005. $19.99 An excellent conversational wine, we paired this with pizza.

-3 Blind Moose. California. 2005. No price available. Thanks Lee!!! Meaty flavor, with undertones of plum. Medium clean finish. Paired with pumpkin sauce over spicy pork loin and roasted root vegetables. UC loves this wine. I didn’t get a chance to taste it, but am really looking forward to doing so.

Gramona:

Gessami. 2006. $17.99. We paired this with pork and apples, and the next night with salmon. Very light, but held up to both. Excellent finish.

Other Blends:

Borsau. 2008. $8.86. I’m blogging this because it was a surprisingly good wine at the price point. It’s easy and approachable,  with a modest price tag so it can be served as an every-day table wine. 75% granache and 25% Temranillo from Spain. This would pair well with anything you’d expect a standard red to go with, but it’s mostly just a good, easy drinking wine that doesn’t break the bank.