An Afternoon at Capstone Vineyards

Last week we spent an afternoon on the outskirts of the Shenandoah Valley escaping the heat and humidity and finally visited Capstone Vineyards. This fulfilled a desire from early March after meeting winemaker Theo Smith at the 2024 Virginia's Governor's Cup Gala. The winery was participating because of their Gold medal winning 2022 Vintner's Blend - a Bordeaux styled percentage of 42% Cabernet Franc, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot.

On this visit we started in the tasting room with a flight of the 2023 Sparkling C2, 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, 2023 Chardonnay, and 2016 Vintner's Blend. This last wine raised the property's viticulture status as it was made by Jim Law across Route 66 at Linden Vineyards. When Smith and his partners purchased the property there was an abundant supply of this blend (60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot) which has aged masterfully in the bottle. The 2016 Vintner's Blend is still fresh with juicy dark fruit and noticeable tannins. The generous staff also allowed us to sample the 2022 Vintner's Blend which is normally off the tasting sheet because of its short supply. Definitely see the aging potential, but our group landed on the 2016 for drinking now. 

The three white wines were all worth noting but the Chardonnay held our fancy until Theo joined us with a glass of their 2023 Rousanne. He told us it was the last fruit picked that season and with smaller than usual berries - the fruit concentration was ideal. Over this glass, Theo also gave us his backstory from biochemistry at Franciscan University to witnessing his first harvest at an Ohio vineyard that peaked his interest that lead to a degree in Viticulture and Oenology at Brock University. He received excellent advice to start his career in a less well-known, but rising wine region which lead to a dozen years at Rappahannock Cellars. Then in late 2022, he and two friends purchased Capstone Vineyards. 

You will be seeing more upcoming content about Capstone Vineyards as we joined the wine club and will be visiting hopefully once a month. We plan on learning more about Theo's contract winemaking as well as his sacramental wine that isn't oxidized. 

2022 Kopke Quinta de São Luiz Vintage Port

"Vintage Port is made from the best grapes in the Douro, typically from the Cima Corgo subregion. The grapes are left to achieve full ripeness before they are picked, vinified and then fortified with high-proof grape spirit. Vintage Port spends a short time aging in barrel – only two to three years – and is bottled, unfiltered, when it is still very dense and full of sediment. This is why Vintage Port's minimum bottle-aging period is considered to be 15 years, and it is often said that no other wine requires as much time in bottle to balance itself. The finest examples are capable of vitality well after 50 years." wine-searcher.com

Port requires appropriate glassware particularly for a vintage port from the oldest port wine house in Douro.  The port is the 2022 Kopke Quinta de São Luiz produced by C. N. Kopke which had its start in 1638.  Two years prior Nicolau Kopkë settled in Portugal as Consul General of the Hanseatic League - a medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe that operated between the 13th and 17th centuries. He quickly pivoted to shipping wine from Portugal back home to Hamburg and the North of Europe. This process continued for 150 years when in 1781 the family purchased a vineyard and became a major producer and moved away from wine buying. In 1922, Quinta de São Luiz was acquired and became the place where all Kopke’s DOC Douro wines are produced. 

Quinta de São Luiz is located on the left bank of the Douro River in Tabuaço (140 km away from Porto) at the very heart of the Douro Region. in the Cima Corgo subregion. The vines are planted in schist and sometimes granite soils averaging 400 feet above sea level. Out of the 125 hectares in the estate 90 are planted with vines - most are Old Vines that interspersed fields of Touriga Nacional,  Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinto Cao, and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo).

In 2022, the Douro Valley’s old vines withstood extreme heat in addition to a 70% reduction in rainfall, resulting in reduced yields by up to 50%. However, the quality of Ports produced from these ancient vines have excelled as the old vines are better equipped to handle the challenging conditions, with their high drought tolerance and adaptation to hot temperatures. In that year, the hand harvested grapes for the 2022 Kopke Quinta de São Luiz consisted of 33% Touriga Nacional and 67% intermixed Old Vines that were barrel aged for two and a half years.  Samples of the wine was submitted to the Institute of Douro and Porto Wine in January 2024 and the Vintage declaration was exclaimed in June. 

I received a sample and immediately wished I could put it aside for a dozen years, but upon uncorking loved the luscious layers of fruit starting with blackberries, then chocolate covered cherries, tropical fruit, and subtle tannins. I wonder where the sidewalk will end with this treasure. 

Having an open bottle I decided to be adventurous and pair with a cigar. With these pairings the only instructions I recall is to try and match the strength of each. Further research suggested that Vintage Ports with dark fruit and spice notes complement cigars with fruit and spice flavors. Thus, match the flavor profile as well. I chose a mystery cigar simply because it was one of a few that I had and it fortunately included some spices that seemed to elevate the chocolate cherries in the wine. Not a bad way to spend an evening. 

The 2022 Kopke Quinta de São Luiz Vintage Port will be available in the United States this month through Sogevinus Fine Wines.