Barboursville Vineyard

The next stop on day of wineries was Barboursville Vineyard. You could tell that by the title right?

Of course I had to get a picture of Barboursville. Something I try to do when we get to each winery. Doesn't always happen, but I do try my best.

And I had to snap this one. It almost looks the cows are in the vineyards. This gave me the giggles every time I think about it.

This tasting was done in an almost assembly line kind of way. You moved down from each section white to reds and then on to dessert. You didn't have the same pourer either. So you got a mix of people pouring wine for you. I'm not sure how I felt about that. I kind of like having one person walk you through your wines.

And I had to get a shot of the Barboursville ruins. Thomas Jefferson designed this building.

Again I got most of my information from the tasting sheet than the pourer. Which seems sad, but when you have SO many wines it's hard to remember everything. So this will be a mix of their notes, if I didn't care for the wine, and my impressions.

The first wine was the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. I love Sauvignon Blanc! And this was no exception. We left with a bottle of this. It was crisp and had hints of citrus on the palate.

2010 Pinot Grigio. Jim is a big fan of Pinot Grigio, so I had to share a sip with him. I did get the touches of apple, pear and pineapple and it had a nice crisp finish to it.

2010 Chardonnay. This is done in a cold fermentation in stainless steel. It was clean and crisp with a quick finish.

2010 Chardonnay Reserve. I did not actually try this one. My friend Ruth did. It's barrel fermented and aged for 8 months. Ruth said it had a light smokiness to it and a quick finish.

2009 Viognier Reserve. I passed on this one. Not a big Viognier fan.

2010 Rose. I'm a HUGE Rose fan. This one was done in 38% Nebbiolo, 26% Sangiovese, 21% Barbera and 15% Cabernet Franc. It was a very pale pink. The claim is that it finishes smooth and it's dry but fleshy. Seriously who writes this stuff? I found it to be dry but light. Nothing to make me want to take a bottle home.

2010 Riesling. This was done in a long and cold fermentation. Off-dry and well balanced. It was dry but slightly sweet. And harsh! Not to my liking.

All in all the whites were nice. I left with two bottles of the white. On to the reds!

2009 Sangiovese Reserve. I felt so so on this one. It was nice. Dry, but light. I really don't have much to say about this. Which is kind of sad.

2008 Babera Reserve. This is made with the Barbera grape. It's described as elegantly earthy, with raspberry, chocolate and plum tones. I did get earthy tones, but I'm not sure how elegant that can be, and the plum notes. It had nice tannins and was dry.

2008 Nebbiolo Reserve. The tasting notes claim this to be a true example of the beauty and power of the most acclaimed varietal in Italian viticulture. Okay whoever wrote up these tasting notes was truly trying to impress and wax poetic. The notes (in my dumbed down version) say there are notes of tar, smoke, blackberry and tobacco. While it's full bodied and has a lasting finish. It will improve with age and turn into a true gem. When this is in the notes I tend to worry. While it was nice and dry and I did get the smokiness... In my opinion selling it as something that will be better with age tells me you're trying to get rid of it and had no patience in waiting for it to age a bit more.

2009 Merlot. While they say there is a limited oak aging, they never say how long. It was soft on the tannins with a small bite. And of course dry.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Twelve months of oak aging process producing a well balanced structure with supple and refined tannins. I'm not so sure about that. I found it to have a bite and it dried out my mouth. Yes you read that right!

2008 Cabernet Franc Reserve. Twelve months of barrel aging. Did they hear my earlier complaint? I did get currant in the nose and it was smooth and dry. I'm not a Cabernet Franc fan. Yet I will try them, because this is a grape that does extraordinarily well in Virginia. Maybe some day I'll find one that converts me, but not today.

2008 Merlot Reserve. 100% Merlot. I did find it to have nice tannins. It had a silky/creamy finish to it. Very nice. But again they claim while it's approachable in youth it will age well for 5-8 years. Really? If you don't think it's at its peak why is it out? I know some people like to put things up to let the wine reach it's potential. But what if it sucks now? We have only your word it will be better. Sorry pet peeve of mine.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Reserve implies that this wine is the best of that vintage. Again it claims rich and polished tannins that allow extended cellaring. To me? It tasted green. And I like Cabernet Sauvignon. *sigh* A big disappointment. Nothing even came through to me to hint at a wonderful wine some where down the line.

2007 Octagon. This is one of their signature wines. It's a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot that is aged 15 months in new French barriques. That's a fancy way of saying small barrels. Trust me I had to Google it. And apparently it is also meant for long term cellaring. It was dry and a bit smoky, which is nice. However, it had a bit of a bite that kind of threw me. Sadly not a bottle to make it home with me.

The reds seemed light to me. And it seemed that most were meant for cellaring instead of immediate consumption. I like to open my wines up and share them with friends to get them hooked on the wineries. Sadly none of these came home with me.

On to the dessert wines!

Cabernet Blanc. A blush style wine with delicate color. Had I read that note before tasting I would have passed. Blush? Ugh! It said semi-sweet with a crisp fruity taste. It definitely had a wonderful fruity smell, but the taste just wasn't there.

Rosato. I tried this one for the name alone! However, their notes irked me. The call this a dessert style rose. Rose's with that little mark above the e? Those aren't supposed to be sweet!!! ARGH! That being said it was kind of nice. It had a strawberry smell to it. Not unpleasant. And was sweet at the front of your mouth, but tart in the back. I found this one kind of fun. I would definitely give it a second chance.

2006 Malvaxia Reserve. Got a bit of education with the notes on this one. Hooray! I love to learn about wine. This is created in the traditional Passito process. I didn't know what this was, but it goes on to explain. The grapes of Malvaxia are carefully hand selected and set aside to rest and air dry for up to 120 days before pressing and fermentation. Six months of a slow and cool fermentation followed by extended barrel aging. I got notes of tropical fruit and an explosion of sweetness.

A lot of wines to try. The notes are somewhat informative. Beautiful venue. I just wish for a bit more I guess.