Barboursville Wines Today

After being underwhelmed at our last visit it was recommended we try their Library Tasting.

Their Vermentino and Viognier were very good but if you can't make a drinkable Viognier in Virginia you may as well close shop.

We then went on to a variety of reds. All which were disappointing. The Merlot had a nose of green vegetable which I though most wineries had been able to fix. The rest of the reds were nondescript, thin bodied, lacking fruit and structure.

This is our general description of virtually all Virginia red wines since we moved here. They all appear to be made such they are early/easy drinking and not to offend.

There are a couple of wineries making good wines across the board at decent prices. Oddly enough Barboursvile was selling an earlier vintage of the top wine, Octagon, at $80 while it's being blown out at Costco for $35. Which is still too much for what it is.

Bob,

Although I have had some lovely Virginia wines, I have to agree with your judgement in general. We sampled through the Barboursville reds a few years ago and my opinion was a bit higher than yours, but nothing that had to follow me home.

My biggest complaint is price for quality. For example, I tasted a Virginia Albarino that I thought was great a couple of years ago, but the price was double what I could get for comparable quality in Spanish Albarinos.

Charlie

We've found that whites in the high teens to mid 20s are decent QPR for Virginia and a few reds below the $30 price point.

IMHO, Barboursville as well a Horton make waaay too many wines. Sort of diluting their efforts.

The whites are generally better than the reds IMO, but the problem is that I am just not a fan of Viognier -- and as you note, Virginia makes a lot of Viognier. Are there some decent QPR whites? Yes, but I find better QPR outside of Virginia. Obviously, your mileage may vary, we all have different palates.

Of course, I'm waiting for Boyce to speak up!

Charlie

Yeah, me too. We like Viognier a lot, and Roussanne even more. I have found some great Gruner at Ox Eye. King makes a decent white blend and aRose.

Well...we've been told...that the TrumpWnry is the only show in VA!!
Tom

Trump's sparklers are not bad. The rest run of the mill that I can buy at a dozen places in VA for less money.

Ok, I'll play!
I enjoy B'ville's Vermentino more than its Viognier which tends to be rather one dimensional to me. As much as enjoy B'ville wines, its Viognier has never really connected with me. That said, I once tasted a 10 year old B'ville Viognier that was stunningly good.

As for B'ville's reds, I demur. If you like big reds, then you won't like B'ville. It cannot compete with the ripeness of California-style wines. However, if you like wines of the Loire and medium bodied Bordeaux, B'ville delivers. It's Cab Franc is stellar and rather similar to the wines of the Loire. It is a food friendly and versatile wine. Octagon is not a big wine, but it is a consistently well made wine. It too is a food friendly wine that ages well ... and it's much more affordable than many Bordalis. But yes, I don't get the pricing model at all. And many small, independent wine shops must be grinding their teeth over the wholesale prices Costco and Wegman's negotiate.

I've never warmed to B'ville's Merlot, but the best of it goes into the Octagon.

B'ville's Barbera is a chameleon. It can be green and harsh when young. I always wait for 5 years and find it usually becomes ripe and richer. In fact, my standard for all Virginia reds is to hold them a minimum of 5 years. They improve over that time.

Between the Sangiovese and Nebbiolo, I prefer the latter. Again, patience is usually rewarded.

Luca will tell you that Cab. Sauv. is difficult to grow and achieves ripeness with difficulty. But when B'ville hits it, it really connects. The 2006 (one of the better Va. vintages) was stunningly good.

Completely agree with your assessment that less would be more, particularly in the case of Horton. Waaay, too many wines; the lack of focus (and quality) shows.

B'ville makes a lot of wines as well, but they sell. Luca is now in a place where he can make some of the wines that he really loves like the Fiona and Vermentino. But they have to make the Chard and the Sauv. Blanc and the Viognier. Cash talks ...

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie ... I just don't know what to do with you! Not a fan of Viognier? And if I slap a Condrieu label on the bottle, what then?

As for white wines in Virginia being better than the reds, again, I demur. Is that true of a sampling of Virginia wines across the board? I dunno, maybe. Is it true of Linden? No. Is it true of King? Probably not. And I'd argue it's not true of B'ville. But I can also point to a host of Va. wineries where it is true as well. But that's what makes us wine geeks, isn't it. We can debate this until the next bottle is opened! .... and then find something else about wine to debate.

You need to buy more Virginia wine! If you help support the local wine industry, it can continue to improve. And that Spanish Albarino is priced attractively because it is subsidized by the Spanish government. Just ask the French how they feel about that.

Again, I agree with both observations. But as good or better sparklers for less money are made in Virginia, beginning with Thibaut-Janisson. And with more Virginia wineries making sparkling wines, the price wars are about to begin.

The Fiona and Vermentino were pretty good. Very true on “cash talks”. We finally figured out that the reds probably have to be early/easy drinkers.

We probably have almost 10 different Viognier in the cellar. French, California, and local. Just love the grape. One just has to avoid the “Dolly Parton” style as Tom Hill labels it. Some local places do a pretty good job that I would put up against anything, at least, in California. Village and Guilleron are French favorites.

Lest Boyce think less of my palate (if that's possible ), my difficulty with viognier is with the domestic version, not French. There are exceptions -- I think the Cedarville Viognier is stunning. And I'm sure there are other examples like that, but, alas, I will probably not discover them.

Charlie

We always try to buy Cedarville. The Syrah is pretty good after about 5 years as is the Petite.

And yet, Wine Enthusiast proclaims B'ville's Viognier to be one of its "top 100" wines. So what do I know! See List Here.

Wine Enthusiast? That’s all you got?

I just report. You decide.