I’m happy to report that the first of our 2008 wines are now in bottle: the 2008 Seyval Blanc, the 2008 Noblesse Viognier, and the 2008 Rosé. Our bumper crop of Viognier last year allowed us to upgrade our Noblesse Blanc to 100% Viognier. The 2008 vintage brought us ripe grapes but with more acidity than in the past. Because of this, I increased the residual sugar level in this wine to twice what it had been – from 0.8% to 1.6% residual sugar. In winemaking, the goal is balance and this wine simply called from more sweetness to balance the higher than normal acidity. The Seyval Blanc is once again a dry, austere, stainless steel Seyval that will be perfect for the summer time. The Rosé this year is derived from 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Franc – the first time it has been made from this much Merlot. I believe the color and aromatics in this wine are an improvment from previous vintages.
As wine moves from the cellar to the warehouse, more tank space is being freed up – allowing me to process more wines. Next up will be to rack (decant) the tank-fermented Chardonnay to barrel. This is new for 2008, our Chardonnay has gone through alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel this year. I will also prepare to blend the 2008 red wines. As you know, we’ve been discussing in-house the idea of making the Cabernet Franc and Meritage wines more distinct from each other. We are moving in the direction of drastically reducing the portion of Cabernet Franc in the Meritage and steering it more in the traditional Bordeaux style with a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Petit Verdot will also be more prominent – making this wine a distinctly Virginia Meritage.
In the near future I will be sending out an e-mail detailing our first “benchmarking” tasting of wines from around the world. This first session will look at Cabernet Franc. One of the wines included in the tasting will be the 2004 Chateau Cheval Blanc, a Bordeaux wine that’s unique in its relatively high percentage of Cabernet Franc – 55% for this vintage.
- Jason
Vintner of Rappahannock Cellars
