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.

Let's Visit Alentejo, Portugal through the Herdade do Esporão Reserva

Herdade do Esporão is a Portuguese wine brand that many readers might have familiarity with.  They are the largest producer in the Alentejo region and also the most widely distributed in the U.S.. We love receiving samples from this producer.

As a refresher, Alentejo covers much of Portugal’s southern half, spanning the flatlands below the Tejo River down to Portugal's southern Atlantic Coast. It accounts for 13% of Portugal's area under vine and 18% of wine production. Alentejo incorporates eight sub-viticultural zones (from north to south: Portalegre, Borba, Évora, Redondo, Reguengos, Granja-Amareleja, Vidigueira, & Moura).  The climate is hot and dry with both a Continental and Mediterranean climate with winters exceptionally cold whereas spring and summer are dry and hot. The region experiences high levels of sunshine in the growing season -- over 3,000 hours annually. Wine-searcher.com also shares that the "Alentejo is broadly flat with hilly areas dotted across its zone. Major mountainous or hilly regions across the area include the Serra de São Mamede (1025m) on the border with Spain at the very northeastern end of the area, and the Serra de Portel (421m) and the Serra d’Ossa (649m), both in the central east".

The Herdade do Esporão estate is located in the Reguengos de Monsaraz DOC sub-region which itself is located squarely in central Alentejo. The granite and schist soils and the local climate are particularly favorable to vine-growing and the region is well known for its production of high-quality wines with their own distinctive characteristics (VisitPortugal).  The region provides the estate with two key advantages: access to water and diversity of soils. According to the winery, "Alentejo is a dry region, averaging just 58 cm/23 inches of rainfall per year. The estate sits on a probable north–south fault zone; fault zones coincide with areas blessed with groundwater. This relative abundance of water was decisive to the medieval occupation of the land and building of the defensive Esporão tower.

Soil mapping begun in 2008 by geologist José Borrego established that at least seven different soils exist within the property, with dioritic soils (medium- to coarse-grained igneous rock) found only at the estate. Dioritic soils result in wines wines with lots of aroma, fruit, and acidity. Granite-origin granodiorite soils eventually yield wines with great freshness and minerality. Other soils include mottled schists (the Reserva Red) for grapes with high sugar and phenol levels, and two different versions of sandy clay loam soils are home to some of the white grapes".

The boundaries of the Herdade do Esporão estate were first established in 1267 and have been unaltered since.  In 1973, José Roquette and Joaquim Bandeira bought the property because the Reguengos sub-region "ensures wines that were full-bodied but elegant and both big and seductive, thanks to a mix of very poor, stony soils and a harsh climate".  The first wine was produced in 1985 using the brand name Esporão which coincidently was the Esporão Reserva Red -- which we will be reviewing the 26th vintage. Currently, they have 450 hectares of vines planted with 194 grape varieties, 37 of which are in full production. Three of these grapes are included in the Reserva White and five in the Reserva Red.

Esporão Reserva White 2022 ($23)
The grapes for this blend of Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro were grown on a granite/schist base with a loam/clay structure. After harvest, 75% of the grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks and the remaining 25% in new American and French oak barrels. This slight oak treatment yields a creamy and structured core surrounded by a white floral and slightly citrus aroma and a fresh herbaceous finish. 

Esporão Reserva Red 2021 ($23)
Red blends comprise a large percentage of Alentejo output and this wine is a blend of Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Trincadeira, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Each variety was vinified separately, destemmed, crushed, temperature controlled alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel vats, concrete tanks and small marble lagares, pressed, followed by malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine then spent 12 months in new (20%) and old (80%) American and French oak barrels. After bottling, the wine aged  at least 6 months in the bottle. This is one of my favorite Portuguese wines with dark fruit (blackberries, plums, and dark cherries), spice and herbs, and a wonderful structured balance with the approachable tannins and pop rocks acidity. 

Notes on the Grapes:

Antão Vaz: This is the most dominate white grape in Alentejo and most prevalent in the Vidigueira and Reguengos sub-regions. The berries are loosely clustered and thick skinned providing disease resistance and they are also able to cope with drought-like conditions. In general it can provide stone and tropical fruit notes, various nuts, minerality, and ripe citrus. 

Arinto: Alentejo's best white blending variety, thanks to its exuberant acidity. Discreet aroma. Green apple, lemon, and lime freshness and mineral notes. Arinto has large leaves for shading and super-high acidity, making it well suited to the hot Alentejo climate.

Roupeiro:  A pale-skinned grape variety that is grown throughout Portugal under several aliases. Wines with Roupeiro exhibit citrus and stone fruit flavors with noticeable aromatic lift.

Alicante Bouschet: Although not indigenous to Portugal it has found a home accounting for 2% of all Portuguese plantings and ranking #8 for all reds. The grape thrives in Alentejo, particularly in Vidigueira and Reguengos, and is the second most planted red grape after Aragonez. It produced dense wines with dark fruit, pepper, smoke, and abundant tartness and astringency. 

Touriga Nacional: A dark-skinned grape variety that is widely believed to produce the finest red wines of Portugal. Called Portugal's answer to France's Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Aragonez: This is a southern Portuguese name for Tempranillo known to produce red wines with red fruit and leather aromas, high tannins, moderate to low acidity, and moderate alcohol. 

Trincadeira: Considered one of the oldest varieties of Portugal. The wines produced from this grape grape are full-bodied and very rich as to their flavor. The aromas are fresh and herbaceous with flavors of blackberries and flowers.

Dão Wines: The Hidden Gem of Portugal

This title was the byline for a brilliant tasting sponsored by Vinhos Dão Wines and Wines of Portugal and featuring numerous wines from this "hidden gem". The tasting started with Wines of Portugal US Ambassador Eugenio Jardim discussing Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula before transitioning to the Dão. Most pertinent is that Portugal has the largest number of microclimates per square kilometers in the world and hosts over 250 indigenous grape varieties. In fact, these grapes are from the species Vitis Silvestris which developed isolated from the world as the Iberian Peninsula remained glacier free during the Quaternary glaciations which froze North and Central Europe over the last 2.58 million years.

That being said, the modern indigenous grape varieties grown in Portugal are Vitis Vinifera and includes grapes such as Malvasia Fina, Encruzado, Jaen (Mencia), and Baga, as well as Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo). These grapes excel in the Dão viticultural region's granite soils and are favored with the microclimates within this northern Portuguese region. It is enclosed by four mountain ranges which act as natural barriers from the coastal rains that originate from the Atlantic and the strong continental winds emanating from Spain. Vineyards are generally planted between 1300 to 1600 feet with higher elevations reaching 2600 feet. According to Wine-Searcher.com, "This elevation raises the vines out of the valley's shadows and towards all-important sunshine, allowing them to maximize their photosynthesis time during the day. It also increases diurnal temperature variation, helping the grapes cool down at night, which they must do to retain the acids so desirable in wine".

Courtesy of Vinhos Dão Wine

In 1908, the Dão became the second (following Porto) formal Portuguese wine region which defined the general conditions for the production and trade of Dão Wine. And more recently the C.V.R. Dão was established in 1987 right after Portugal formally joined the EU. This organization is responsible for "ensuring authenticity and quality by strictly controlling the production and marketing of the wines" and certifies and authenticates wines with Seals of Guarantee. The CVR also created four quality designations listed in the box.

Selected Harvest: With harvest year, with outstanding organoleptic characteristics and with more than 1% of the volume of the legal limit.
Reserve: With harvest year, with outstanding organoleptic characteristics and with more than 0.5% of the volume of the legal limit.
Garrafeira: With harvest year, with outstanding organoleptic characteristics;
> Red wines: 36 months, 12 months in bottle
> White wines: 12 months, 6 months in bottle
Dão Nobre: With the year of harvest, with very outstanding organoleptic characteristics. Only two to date (one white and one red) – Must score 90 points plus

Our tasting started with a flight of white wines dominated by the Encruzado grape. According to Wines of Portugal, Encruzado generally creates complex wines with aromatic mineral notes and tropical fruit and depth and vanilla when fermented in barrel. The Quinto do Mondego Mondeo Branco 2018 (60% Encruzado & 40% Gouveio) contains these mineral notes as well as a smokey, flinty profile. The grape's versatility was shown in the saline driven high acid Juliana Kelman Encruzado 2018 to the beeswax and spice in the Pedra Cancela Vinha da Fidalga Encruzado 2018 the cream and depth of the Quinta dos Roques Encruzado 2018.

For reds, our hosts provided one flight consisting of various blends and the second flight of 100% Touriga Nacional. Like most European regions, blends are the backbone of the Dão with most combinations not as complex as the Casa da Passarella "O Oenologo - Vinhas Velhas" Tinto 2015 - composed of Baga, Touriga Nacional, Alvarelhão, Tinta Pinheira, Jaen, Alfrocheiro, Tinta Carvalha, and more. And the Pedra Cancela Selecao do Enologo Tinto 2016 (Touriga Nacional, Alfrocheiro, Tinta Roriz) was the bargain of the tasting, priced under $10, with gripping tannins and solid fruit structure and just a little less leather and barnyard funk as the winery's more expensive Reserva.

The 100% Touriga Nacional wines, in general, provided more fruit than the blends particularly the Borges Touriga Nacional 2017. But expect a balanced profile with texture and solid tannins. The Julia Kemper Touriga Nacional 2012 was more tender due to the advanced aging and provided more approachable tannins. My favorite was the dustier Jaime de Almeida Barros "Quinta das Camelias" Touriga Nacional 2016 which seemed a perfect match with the Martin Farms Beef Short Rib -- the main entree during our lunch at Metier.

The final wine was the Qunita das Maias Tinto Jaen 2017, my first single varietal from this grape. It offers a rustic charm with dusty cherries and firm tannins.  This wine and the others will entice a more in-depth examination of the Dão region and Portuguese wines.

Felicidades to Vinhos Dão Wines, Wines of Portugal, and Metier for a fantastic tasting.

When Its Cold Outside Reach for Port - Here's Two from Warre's and Graham's

This winter the buzzword appears to be bomb cyclone, which replaced polar vortex, which replaced Alberta Clipper, which sometime in the past replaced the simple cold front of my youth. Regardless of these marketing weather gimmicks, when its cold I reach for Port - a fortified wine produced from grapes grown and processed in the Portuguese Douro demarcation and fortified with neutral grape spirit.

There are over a hundred sanctioned grape varieties eligible for Port, but in general, expect the use of these five: Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional. There are also several categories of Port: White, Tawny, Ruby, Reserve, and Vintage. (See The Wine Coach for specifics.) Aged tawnies come in ten year increments that reflect a port house's style and not a minimum, maximum, or average age. Thus a 10-year-old or 20-year-old Tawny port is a taste that is reflected in oak aging, racking and blending. Ruby Ports are aged in large vats for two to three years before bottling whereas Vintage Ports are from a single harvest designated as an exceptional year and aged additional years in the bottle. The Reserve Port category was created by Cockburn's (founded in 1815) to bridge these two styles where the wine is aged longer in large barrique casks. The goal was to create a wine similar in quality to the Vintage Port but drinkable early like the Ruby Port.

Warre's Warrior Port ($19). Warrior is the oldest continuously bottled Port brand (1750's) as Warrior has been branded on the casks of Warre’s finest Reserve Ports since the earliest days of the firm. The grapes are drawn from Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta do Retiro, Warre’s best quintas in the Pinhão and Rio Torto valleys that also produce Warre’s classic Vintage Ports. The wine is fruity and chewy, lot's of texture, with another long lingering finish. Apparently the higher altitudes and cooler climate lead to this ripe fruit character. For a full bodied, yet fresh, easy drinking Port wine, start here.

Graham's 20 Year Old Tawny Port ($56) is a blend from all five Graham quintas – Malvedos and Tua, Vila Velha, Lages in the Rio Torto and Vale de Malhadas in the Douro Superior. It is pure tawny in color as well as showing layers of rich dried fruit, oranges, and nut flavors. The wine finishes very smoothly with a boost from elevated acidity. This 20-year-old Tawny Port is an elegant wine - excellent for all occasions - particularly during cold winter weather. Cheers.

10 Year Old Tawny Port and Grilled Cheese?

"Come here: Let me tell you a secret. Three little words that will win you the respect of wine lovers and help you understand why we seem capable of talking about nothing else. Aged. Tawny. Port. " - Dave McIntyre, Washington Post

I concur with Dave's statement and always enjoy a class of Tawny Port as an alternative or supplement to dessert. Aged tawnies come in ten year increments that reflect a port house's style and not a minimum, maximum, or average age. Thus a 10-year-old Tawny port is a taste that is reflected in oak aging, racking and blending. In general expect a mellow, caramel, nutty, and dried fruit character.  The marketing company suggested pairing with grilled cheese and I had to try - but first the port wines.

Warre's was the first British Port company - founded in 1670 -- and thus a pioneer as their Warrior brand is the oldest continuously bottled Port brand. The newer Warre's OTIMA 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($30) brand is made from the five traditional Portuguese grapes Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional -- all sourced from the Douro Valley's Quinta da Cavadinha and Quinta do Retiro Antigo regions. The OTIMA is a lighter style - but the wine packs plenty of flavor where the aging and oxidation provides abundant fruit and nutty character plus toffee with salted caramel. Nicely done.

In contrast the Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Port ($36) is closer to Ruby than Tawny in color as well as a fuller body Think fruit cake with honeyed figs. The wine is composed of the same grapes as the OTIMA but sourced from a larger range of qunita's including the Symington family's private estates in Quinta da Villa Velha and Quinta do Vale de Malhadas. Once again, no need for food pairings to enjoy this delicious port wine.

While reading about Tawny Port, aged cheddar cheese is a commonly suggested food pairing so a grilled cheese sandwich doesn't seem far off. I chose swiss and cheddar, only because they were immediately available. Each wine's acidity cut through the cheese's fat and who's against a fruit, nut, cheese pairing because that is what you get. Plus why not have a glass of port with lunch. Seems like a good idea to me. Cheers.

Symington Family Estate’s 2015 Dow’s Vale do Bomfim

Symington Family Estate’s Dow Winery is known for their Port being a historical producer of Portugal's signature fortified wine. But for many years Symington has been producing a dry red table wine from the same Bomfim used in these ports and sharing the wine with friends and family. Eventually they released this wine commercially and this month I received a sample of the 2015 Dow’s Vale do Bomfim ($13).  This wine is made from traditional Portuguese grapes Tinta Barroca, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, and Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), all grown in the Duoro DOC. This region is centered on the upper Douro River and it's Mediterranean climate is sheltered by mountain ranges from coastal influences.  This is a juicy wine, dominated by dark fruit (plums and dark cherry) and acidity. Despite only having medium tannins, this wine benefits from a little breathing. The freshness remains but the acidity becomes more in balance with the fruit and wet stone minerality. The suggested pairing is Chouriço, so pick your sausage. Cheers.

Touring the Route 17 Wine Road in Virginia's Piedmont

I've driven through the intersection of Route 29 and Route 17 probably a hundred times on trips to Charlottesville and elsewhere but have never stopped at any of the wineries just south of Warrenton. That changed this past weekend as I traveled directly to the middle of Virginia's Piedmont in order to visit three area wineries. Granite Heights is also located in the area but closes for the winter. And as always, theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you to these wineries.

Molon Lave Vineyards
This winery is owned by the Papadopoulos family, the same Greek family who started Mediterranean Cellars. The vines for Molon Lave were planted in 2003 with the winery and Tasting Room opening in late 2009. The utilize primarily estate fruit and are the first winery in Virginia to produce Kosher wines. A rabbi travels down from New York to supervise all phases from harvest to pressing and fermenting to ensure the designation. And like Mediterranean Cellars they produce a a traditional Greek Retsina styled wine, the Kokineli ($28) rosé that has less of a resin profile than Mediterranean's version.

A tasting during this visit consisted of eight wines for $8 with a very traditional wine list (outside of the Kokinelli. The 2012 Chardonnay ($24) is one of their Kosher offerings and is showing nicely with lively acids and just a tad of butter from the oak treatment. The 2013 Viognier ($26) also sees some oak and is made off dry at 1.5% R.S. The acids penetrate any sweetness thus this wines tastes like dry honeysuckles. Their 2013 Pinot Grigio ($32) is also produced off dry at 2% R.S. and is a tasty wine, but $32 - for Pinot Grigio - I think that's asking a lot.

Chambourcin is a French hybrid that gets a bad rap and I think Molon  Lave produces two nice versions, first the 2014 Katie's Charm ($24) fermented and aged in stainless steel. There's plenty of fruit and approachable tannins to make this one an easy sipper. On the other hand the 2013 Chambourcin ($26) is aged 18 months in oak to created a bigger wine with more spices and tannins. Take your pick according to the style you prefer. Their two biggest wines are the 2013 Merlot ($28) and 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)  aged 12 and 18 months respectively. Black fruit are prevalent on both with the main difference being the Cabernet Sauvignon has a more black pepper profile and is Kosher. I definitely enjoyed the visit to Molon Lave and see it know as a launching point to travel further south on Route 29.


Grey Horse Vineyards
This is a new winery that is still waiting on it's two year old estate vineyard to yield fruit. Thus, they source most of the juice from Molon Lave Vineyards and other Virginia vineyards. The winery has a large spacious and comfortable tasting room where they provide live music for visitors. Andrew O'Day was onstage this day. And this was a popular spot with a group event and several people lining the tasting bar. Grey Horse offers a Standard Tasting of 5 wines for $10 and a Premium Tasting of four wines plus the Canter ($52) port-styled wine. I chose the Standard Tasting and chose the Bethany's White 2014 ($31, Viognier and Vidal Blanc), Over Fences 2013 ($31, Chardonnay and Viogner), Chardonnay 2012 ($29), Merlot 2012 ($35) , and Equidae 2012 ($36, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot). On the positive side, the two reds were very nice with the Merlot creamy, spicy, and showing solid tannins while the Equidae had less spices and body but a friendlier finish. On the negative side, the Over Fences and Chardonnay were flawed with the over abundance of volatile acidity tainting the wine. Also, the wines are over priced - $30 for a white wine - particularly wines aged in stainless steel.  And $10 for a tasting of 5 wines; should be half that price. Recommended to people who like red wine and live music.

Morais Vineyards & Winery
In contrast to Grey Horse, there wasn't much to complain about Morais Vineyards. The Morais family has been making wine in Portugal for over a century and Jose Morais, with his fourth generation winemaker Vitor Guimarãis, have brought Portuguese wine culture to the Commonwealth. Opened in 2011, the winery has an elegant event center for weddings and a similarly elegant tasting facility - a circular building hosting a circular tasting bar. Families will enjoy the spacious grounds and play areas; but on this visit I enjoyed the wines. They offer two tasting flights, the Classic Tasting of eight wines for $8 and the Deluxe Tasting of the Classic plus four dessert wines for $15. The winery also provides a platter consisting of cheese, chocolate, and salami to suggest potential pairings for each wine.

I chose the Deluxe and thought all the wines well made with several unique offerings. First, the Portuguese influence is present with the fruity and creamy Verdello ($22, 12%) and the spicy Touriga ($25). And the Battlefield ($21) is made in the Vinho Verde style but is an interesting blend of 60% Vidal Blanc and 40% Albarino weighing in at a measly 10% abv. Picked early, these grapes possess plenty of green apple flavors. The final white was an excellent Sauvignon Blanc ($22) which blended seamlessly with its suggested food pairing - salami.  Their Rosé ($21)  is a bleed from 100% Cabernet Franc, but I preferred the resulting Cabernet Franc ($23) red wine with its slightly creamy flavor and solid acids. The Merlot ($24) and Select Red ($25) - a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc - rounded out the reds and are were both very nice wines.

The winery's dessert wines were getting plenty of attention from my fellow visitors that day and I quickly learned why. The Cherry ($17/375ml) is made from sour cherries in the a style reminiscent of the Portuguese dessert wine Ginjinha and is fantastic. I guess I could say all the dessert wines were fantastic or very close. The Moscatel ($27) is 100% Muscat of Alexandria and possess the expected floral aromas with only subtle hints of alcohol. The Jeropiga ($17/375ml) is a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc fermented with a cinnamon stick and fortified with grape brandy. And of course they must offer a port styled wine; the MV Tawny ($28) made from 100% Touriga and simple delicious.

The tasting room staff was also a pleasure to meet. When not familiar with a question they quickly escalated the question to someone who may and were knowledgeable about the winery and products. And the prices were very reasonable for a Virginia made wine, particularly wines produced primarily from estate grapes. Well worth a visit.

Veritas Vineyards

Our first stop on the Monticello Wine Trail was Veritas Vineyards, located just southwest of Charlottesville at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Andrew and Patricia Hodson planted their first vines about a decade ago and opened the tasting facility in 2002 - selling wine from the 2001 vintage. They named the winery after the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder's statement: “In Vino Veritas” ~ “In Wine There Is Truth”. Their goal was to create high quality vinifera wines and with the assistance of their daughter Emily Pelton they have largely succeeded. And don't think that hiring your daughter is just another case of nepotism; Ms. Pelton earned a Masters in Enology at Virginia Tech and was recently awarded the Judges Choice Award at the 2007 National Women’s Wine Competition in California. On our arrival, Emily and resident sommelier Thomas Roberts escorted downstairs to the fermenting and barrel areas. Amongst large steel tanks we learned about the winery operations and their other goal of educating consumers on wine\food pairings through classes, private events, and weddings. Plus, these events are great opportunities to sell wine. During the discussion we also sampled their wines, starting with a Sauvignon Blanc - made in the Loire style. It was dry and crisp - nice for a varietal that we usually find as too weak in Virginia. We followed with a couple versions of Chardonnay and Viognier and what was exceptional about these wines is that we were tasting directly from either the tanks or barrels - basically the wines were only a few months old. The Viognier was most impressive - peaches and apricots - and its excellent character is why the previous vintage was awarded a double gold in San Francisco.



Moving to reds, we tasted from several barrels of Cabernet Franc, starting with a fruit forward version made from free run juice. There was no tannins in this sample - just cherry fruit flavors. We moved to two other barrels that contained wine made from grapes picked from the same vineyard lot - just a week difference. The wine was completely different - the first seemed fresher - some in our party smelled and tasted Violets - interesting for such a young wine; whereas the wine from the lot picked later was more tannic. Who knew that one week could create such a divergence in flavor. We continued with Merlot and Petit Verdot - the first solid, but the second exceptional. After only a few months in the barrel the Petit Verdot was already full bodied and spicy - no need to blend here - this is a single varietal. Emily also poured versions of their port-styled wine Othello where the Tannat and Touriga Nacional are fortified and aged separately. Finally we were lead into the sparkling wine room where amongst riddling racks we sampled their Mousseux - a dry sparkling style wine. The wine is an equal blend of Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc and is extremely dry - think dry raspberries - and very unsuspecting with the pink color.

What a fantastic start for our trip. Veritas set a very high benchmark that we would use to judge the other wineries. In the coming months, the Veritas wine making staff will need to determine how to bottle the wines we tasted. Some will be sold in the tasting room as 100% varietals, others will be blended to produce a Claret or Meritage. Partly science, mostly art - they will continue to sample the wines in the barrel until they can determine its final destination. We look forward to returning after bottling to sample the final result.