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#390528 - 11-22-2019 19:00:39
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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Obsessed
Registered: 12-15-2000 08:00:00
Posts: 2411
Loc: Charlottesville, Virginia
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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
Edited by Charlie Chadwick (11-22-2019 19:14:07)
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#390531 - 11-23-2019 17:03:26
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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Obsessed
Registered: 12-15-2000 08:00:00
Posts: 2411
Loc: Charlottesville, Virginia
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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
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#390534 - 11-25-2019 06:19:04
Well..
[Re: Bob Davis]
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Venerated Icon
Elvis Has Entered the Building!
Registered: 02-15-2004 17:42:19
Posts: 12127
Loc: LosAlamos
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Well...we've been told...that the TrumpWnry is the only show in VA!! Tom
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#390546 - 11-29-2019 09:18:30
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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...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 Barboursville 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. 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.
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390547 - 11-29-2019 09:22:11
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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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 ...
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390548 - 11-29-2019 09:30:02
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Charlie Chadwick]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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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 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.
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390549 - 11-29-2019 09:34:00
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Charlie Chadwick]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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...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. 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.
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390550 - 11-29-2019 09:37:59
Re: Well..
[Re: Bob Davis]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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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. 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.
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390559 - 12-02-2019 08:47:18
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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Obsessed
Registered: 12-15-2000 08:00:00
Posts: 2411
Loc: Charlottesville, Virginia
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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
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#390572 - 12-05-2019 07:17:11
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: Bob Davis]
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True Southern Exposure
Crazed Wino
Registered: 01-02-2001 08:00:00
Posts: 5444
Loc: Somewhere in the Great Valley ...
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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.
_________________________
BEB
"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd
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#390573 - 12-05-2019 07:57:04
Re: Barboursville Wines Today
[Re: BEB]
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Obsessed
Registered: 12-15-2000 08:00:00
Posts: 2411
Loc: Charlottesville, Virginia
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And yet, Wine Enthusiast proclaims B'ville's Viognier to be one of its "top 100" wines. So what do I know!
Wine Enthusiast? That’s all you got?
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