Loudoun County Spring 2023 Barrel Tasting

In late-April, we purchased tickets to the Loudoun Wineries Association's Spring 2023 Barrel Tasting visiting five out of a possible 14 wineries in that county that participated. Our group started at Willowcroft Vineyards, the oldest winery in the county and the 8th oldest in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Owner and winemaker Lew Parker purchased the property in 1979, planted grapes the following year, constructed the winery in 1983, and opened it to the public in '84. Today they grow 12 grape varieties with Albarino and Riesling being long-time favorites of ours. 

However, today's focus was on a trio of reds aging in the cellar -- all 2022 vintage and aging in different types of oak casks. We started by tasting from an American oak barrel holding the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon where the barrel is adding tannins as well as vanilla and tobacco to this light-bodied wine. A 2-year-old French oak barrel is housing the 2022 Merlot allowing the fruit to shine forth while augmenting with additional tannins. Finally, a new French oak barrel is being used to age the 2022 Petit Verdot where the full-bodied and structured wine will receive even more tannins to make this an age-worthy wine. 

We then traveled the backroads of Loudoun County to Endhardt Vineyards, a relatively new winery operating on a beautiful estate south of Purcellville. And for a new winery, owners Hannes and Sarah Endhardt have invested heavily, both in the 46-acre estate and the extensive barrel program.  They have planted five grape varieties on their 11 acres under vine: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. During the barrel tasting, we received a mini-vertical of two years of the Petit Verdot and Merlot. This allowed us to witness the transformation of each wine as it matured with the younger wines being more one-dimensional fruity and the older ones more structured. Looking forward to visiting on a day without rain and to enjoy their upcoming white Cabernet Franc. 

After lunch at Monk's BBQ in Purcellville, we headed a few miles north to one of our go-to wineries: Walsh Family Wine.  We've spent time with Nate over the years, at the old Whole Foods tastings, through his seminars at Sunset Hills, and now operating Walsh Family Wine with his wife Sarah.  The barrel tasting started on a high note with the first white wine of the day, a delicious Chenin Blanc. Just a touch of oak and substantial fruit.  We also tasted, I believe, a Merlot and a Tannat, in between conversations on racking,  blending, and viticulture in general. We finished with the very drinkable and ready Paeonian red blend - named after the town of Paeonian Springs where the grapes for this wine were sourced. This will be a highly prized release. 

We then traveled north into Hillsboro and to one of the oldest wineries in Loudoun County, Doukenie Winery. Greek for Duchess, Doukenie has a beautiful estate at the base of a short mountain range; interestingly, with Breaux Vineyards on the other side of that range.  It has been a while since I last visited; I particularly remember their A Taste of Science seminars. On this day, we tasted several wines while having a very informative discussion on brix and pH and how winemakers measure each. We also discussed different grape varieties and the benefits and difficulties of growing each. We learned how Cabernet Sauvignon is difficult to ripen in Virginia because of a lack of consistent sunshine. Cabernet Franc, on the other hand, is well suited for Virginia, but growers and winemakers have to time harvest exactly to balance the pyrazines and sugar and acidity. Honestly, I didn't document the other wines we tasted because I was so enamored with this technical conversation. It brought back the A Taste of Science seminars. Looking forward to returning to learn more about winemaking and viticulture as well as to taste these wines once bottled.

Our last stop of the tour was very close to where we started, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard -- located just south of Leesburg. The property has been a family farm since 1950, first as a  dairy farm and then as a vineyard since the early 2000s when the first grapes were planted. Winemaker Bill Hatch has been known for his Cabernet Franc and that was the focus of this day's barrel tasting. Specifically, they poured a 2021 Cabernet Franc that was resting in a 500-liter neutral Hungarian oak puncheon and the same vintage aging in a 228-liter French oak barrel.  Obviously, the version aging in the puncheon showed more fruit whereas the smaller French oak was providing more spices and tannic character.  The winery plans to combine the wine from both barrels into a third barrel, but I wish they would bottle some from just the puncheon - slightly chilled it would be a delicious summer sipper. 

Zephaniah made the barrel tasting even more interesting by giving visitors a sip of their 2022 Chelois, a French hybrid grape (Bienvenu and Roi de Noirs are its parents) created by French grape-breeder Albert Seibel in the wake of the phylloxera crisis of the late 19th century.  This is the only Chelois planted in Virginia and it shows dark fruit with limited tannins but decent acidity. It will be interesting if they decide to release it as a single varietal or as a blend. 

Zephaniah Farm Vineyard

The smallest bonded winery in Loudoun County, and perhaps the entire state of Virginia, is Zephaniah Farm Vineyard. Located just south of Leesburg, the family operated operation is also situated in one of the oldest structures hosting a winery: an 1830 manor house. In fact, the building was constructed by William Benton, who also built James Monroe's Oak Hill estate 10 years earlier. The house and surrounding dairy farm was purchased by William Hatch in 1950 - basically to keep his children occupied during his travels as a Naval Intelligence Officer. Capt. Hatch's military career could be a character in a Tom Clancy novel. During World War II, he served as an underwater demolitions diver, helping to clear the Chesapeake Bay and the Charleston harbor of mines laid by German submarines. After an officer heard him singing a Polish rhyme he was sent to the Naval Academy, commissioned as an officer, and was deployed to a U.S. minesweeper with a Russian crew in Murmansk. Eventually, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow for the remainder of the war. After the war, he joined Naval Intelligence and served in the Pentagon and throughout the war. Coincidentally he was the person who first notified Admiral John S. McCain, Jr. that his son was shot down in Vietnam.

Getting back the farm, Zephaniah Farm actually - named after William Hatch's grandfather shipbuilder Zephaniah Hatch, operated as a working dairy farm until about 20 years ago. At the same time as market conditions forced the closing of the dairy farm, William's son Bill began researching grape growing and envisioned planting a vineyard on the property. Long after the diary operations switched to raising beef cattle he planted Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Chardonel vines in 2001 and waited for the fruit. The Chardonel never fully prospered but the other two varieties did and after a few years harvest he started making wine for home consumption. In 2007, they bottled their first commercial product, the 2007 Cabernet Franc. Mr. Hatch believes his cabernet franc can distinguish itself from the many other excellent brands in the state, because he actively prunes the leaves at berry set so that there are only 2-3 shoots per foot. His winery consultant and son, Tremain Hatch believes this approach produces a less herbaceous flavor and instead allows the fruit flavor to stand out. He also recommends not "over-oaking" their Cabernet Franc so the wine is aged in neutral French oak. After gaining a masters degree in Viticulture at Virginia Tech and upcoming field work in New Zealand - Tremain should have plenty of additional advice for his father. Other family members also contribute to the success of the winery. Bill's wife Bonnie designed the wine label and daughter Meredith assists in bottling and winery\vineyard tours; her twin sister, Emily, sometimes travels home during heavy bottling sessions. A true family enterprise.

The 2007 Cabernet Franc is a nice wine, the first sensation noticed is the strong fruity nose. The wine itself, is very smooth with more black cherry than red cherry flavor. The tail is also smooth with low tannins. Bill also provided us with barrel samples from a couple styles of oak and it was a nice exercise to taste how the oak influences the wine. The Cabernet Franc definitely needs a little more time in the barrel, but look out for a Merlot that is aging from grapes sourced from neighbor Bill Tripplet. After only a few months in the barrel - that wine is drinkable now.

Over the coming few years Mr. Hatch hopes to improve the quality of the Cabernet Franc while simultaneously introducing new varietals such as a dry Petit Mensing and a Petit Verdot. In the meanwhile the winery is open by appointment, but the Hatch's encourage visitors. The only reason they don't provide set hours for tasting is that with a staff of one or two, they are usually in the vineyard or the basement laboratory. Just give them a heads-up and ring the family heirloom above the door when you arrive. This is a bell that was salvaged from the S.S. Monticello, a boat built by Zephaniah Hatch, but named after his hometown of Monticello New York and not the Jefferson estate. The Zephaniah wine is also available at the Leesburg Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning - regardless of weather.