Season

2007 can be classified as extraordinary. After a mild winter, spring was cool with normal rainfall amounts. Beginning with flowering on May 30 and extending just past the last day of harvest on October 20, we experienced below normal rainfall and average to above average temperatures. It was especially warm and dry during the critical ripening months of August, September, and October.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked and chilled overnight. A double sorting, (pre- and post-destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked for 3 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60ºF and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation lasted about 7-10 days with 2 cap punch downs each day. The wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and racked into barrels the next morning. The barrels were inoculated with a malolactic culture and this fermentation lasted from 30-60 days. Once ML fermentation was complete the wine was racked out of the fermentation room back into our cellar and allowed to rest. During the summer of 2008, the final blends were made and the wine was transferred from primarily new French oak barrels to older, neutral barrels for further aging.
Unfined and unfiltered, it was bottled on 6 February 2009.

Varietals

63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc

Production

328 cases

Aging Potential

2009 – 2015

Season

2009 was a bit of a stressful and difficult year but, in the end, the fruit ripened beautifully and made very intense, structured and age-worthy wines. The beginning of the growing season was extremely wet, but from early July through mid-October we were extremely dry and quite cool. Because of this cool summer, harvest was delayed a bit but this actually worked to our advantage as grape flavor development kept pace with grape chemistry, i.e., sugars, pH, and acids. Significant rains held off just until the time of year when the vines no longer take up much water anyway, so the fruit still ripening was not compromised. We did experience a partial frost on our lower blocks of red fruited vines but continued to hang the fruit and there was just enough movement of resources within the vines and sunlight from above to obtain full flavor maturity. All in all, it was a very good year to grow wine in Virginia.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked and chilled overnight. A double sorting, (pre and post destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked for 4 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation lasted about 7 to 10 days with 2 cap punch downs each day. After about 2 weeks of maceration, the wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and racked into barrels the next morning. The barrels were inoculated with a malolactic culture and this fermentation lasted from 30 to 60 days. Once ML fermentation was complete the wine was racked out of the fermentation room back into our cellar and allowed to rest. During the summer of 2010, the final blends were made and the wine was transferred from primarily new French oak barrels to older, neutral barrels for further aging.
Unfined and unfiltered, it was bottled in March 2011.

Varietals

63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot and 6% Cabernet Franc

Production

200 cases

Aging Potential

2013 – 2025

Season

2010 was an extraordinary winegrowing year in Virginia. High heat and extremely dry conditions prevailed throughout the growing season. Add in an early bud break and no season-ending tropical storms, we enjoyed a long growing season which in turn allowed our red grapes time to attain ultimate and full ripeness. Very light leaf pulling was performed this vintage to slow down berry development and to protect the clusters from the blistering summer heat. These are hedonistic wines.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked and chilled overnight. A double sorting, (pre and post destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked for 4 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation temperatures reached the low 80s and lasted from 7 to 10 days, with 2 cap punch downs performed each day. After about 2 weeks of maceration, the wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and the transferred into barrels the next morning. The barrels were inoculated with a malolactic culture and this fermentation lasted from 30 to 60 days. Once ML fermentation was complete the wine was racked out of the fermentation room back into our cellar and allowed to rest. During the summer of 2011, the final blends were made and the wine was transferred from primarily new French oak barrels to older, neutral barrels for further aging. Unfined and unfiltered, it was bottled in August 2012.

Varietals

69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot

Production

350 cases

Aging Potential

2014 – 2028

Season

2012 was an excellent year for growing grapes in Virginia. It was reminiscent of the stellar 2009 vintage. Bud break occurred very early, around the last couple days of March. Flowering was also early, at the end of May. Summer temperatures were normal, with some hot days and some cool ones. Rainfall was rather low for most of the summer, turning very dry in August just before harvest. A couple of minor rain events occurred in late August and early September but after these rains past, the rest of harvest was beautifully dry, sunny and warm during the days and very cool and crisp during the night time hours. Harvest began in late September and lasted through the middle of October.

Winemaking

The grapes were hand picked and chilled overnight. A double sorting, (pre and post destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked for 4 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation temperatures reached the low 80s and lasted from 7 to 10 days, with 2 cap punch downs performed each day. After about 2 weeks of maceration, the wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and the transferred into barrels the next morning. The barrels were inoculated with a malolactic culture and this fermentation lasted from 30 to 60 days. Once ML fermentation was complete the wine was racked out of the fermentation room back into our cellar and allowed to rest. During the summer of 2011, the final blends were made and the wine was transferred from primarily new French oak barrels to older, neutral barrels for further aging. Unfined and unfiltered, it was bottled in August 2012.

Varietals

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc

Production

350 cases

Aging Potential

2014 – 2028

Season

2013 consisted of a troublesome growing season and a beautiful ripening and harvest season. The spring and early summer months were warm and wet resulting in the vines growing wildly and rapid. This, in turn, caused us to work long and rapidly just to keep up. But by mid-August and through October the rains ceased and the vines stopped growing and put their energies into ripening their fruit. There were no tropical systems in our area and we enjoyed many sunny and warm days and very cool crisp nights. Harvest began in late September and lasted through the middle of October.

Winemaking

Grapes were hand harvested and chilled overnight. A triple sorting, (in the vineyard, and then on the crush pad, pre- and post-destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked for 4 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60ºF and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation temperatures reached into the mid-80s and lasted about 7 to 10 days with 2 cap punch downs each day. ML fermentation began in the bins after primary fermentation was complete. After two to three weeks of additional maceration time including daily tastings, the wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and then racked into French oak barrels where ML fermentation completed. The wines rested for five months before this blend was assembled during the summer of 2014. This wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined in July 2015.

Varietals

67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

Production

420 cases

Aging Potential

2015 – 2030

Season

Following an extremely cold winter, spring was wet and cool and the first half of summer was wet and hot. In August, the rains stopped and we enjoyed a relatively dry and warm harvest with no tropical storms moving through our area. Harvest began in late September and lasted through the middle of October.

Winemaking

Grapes were hand harvested and chilled overnight. A triple sorting, (in the vineyard, and then on the crush pad, pre- and post-destemming) was performed and the berries were destemmed without crushing. The whole berries filled small one-ton fermenters and were cold soaked 4 days. Moved into the fermentation room, the bins were warmed to 60ºF and inoculated with yeast. Fermentation temperatures reached into the mid-80ºs and lasted about 7-10 days with 2 cap punch downs each day. ML fermentation began in the bins after primary fermentation was complete. After 2-3 weeks of additional maceration time including daily tastings, the wine was pressed off, allowed to settle overnight and then racked into French oak barrels where ML fermentation completed. The wines rested for five months before this blend was assembled during the summer of 2015. This wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined in July 2016.

Varietals

69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot

Production

525 cases

Aging Potential

2017 – 2030

Season

The weather of 2015 in Virginia was quite normal–or predictably quite unpredictable. A cold winter, hitting zero a few nights, followed by a cool dry spring with normal bud break around April 15. Early summer had increased frequency of rains but by the end of July the rains stopped and late summer into early autumn once again became very dry with beautiful fall ripening and harvest weather.

Winemaking

The warm and dry harvest produced a wine with ripe fresh berry flavors. Named after our vineyard site, this blend of grape, soil, barrel, and vintage produces a wine of multi-layered complex flavors, combined with a solid framework of natural acidity and tannin which promises great further bottle development. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Varietals

68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc

Aging Potential

2018 – 2035