Anne Cuvelier from the Cuvelier family (that owns, inter alia, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux) was in town (Washington DC) for the Heart’s Delight Event. On the side, Annette Schiller from wine tours by ombiasy organized a winemaker dinner with her at Eola on P Street in Dupont Circle in Washington DC. Anne also wanted to visit Virginia wineries. We visited 3 of the leading wineries in Virginia, all three of them intertwined with Bordeaux: Boxwood, Linden, RdV.
For more on the visits with Anne Cuvelier, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Tasting Through Recent Vintages at Boxwood Winery in Virginia: With Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
See here for the Leoville Poyferre Dinner at Eola:
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA
For upcoming ombiasy wine tours by Annette Schiller, see:
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013
Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux
Boxwood
We started our tour with Boxwood. Rachel Martin, Executive Vice President of the winery and the owners’ daughter, gave us a tour of the winery, including tasting various vintages. Anne Cuvelier and Rachel Martin know each.
From the barrel cave, Rachel led us to the tank room, where the 2011 vintage, already blended, was resting.
Rachel Martin, Executive Vice President of the winery and the owners’ daughter, oversees the vineyard, winery, and national and international sales. No stranger to the wine business, Rachel studied Viticulture and Enology at Napa Valley College and Sensory Evaluation at the University of Bordeaux (School of Enology). That’s were Anne Cuvelier met Rachel Martin.
The Boxwood Winery is located in Middleburg in the midst of picturesque Loudoun County in Virginia in the US. It is owned by John Kent Cooke, a former owner and president of the NFL Washington Redskins. Boxwood aims at: to make premium red wines with Bordeaux grape varieties and a distinct Virginia expression. Boxwood produces 5,000 cases per year.
The Wines we Tasted
For the wines, we had, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Tasting Through Recent Vintages at Boxwood Winery in Virginia: With Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville - Poyferre, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA
For more, see here:
Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA
Linden Vineyards
The next day, we visited Linden Vineyards in the early afternoon. We were guided by Jonathan Weber, who is Linden’s cellar master. Later, Shari and Jim Law joined us.
Linden Vineyards is a 5,000 case winery and vineyard situated on the Virginia Blue Ridge, 65 miles west of Washington, D.C.. Linden Vineyards owner and winemaker Jim Law is something of god in the wine world of Virginia.
Jim Law, with family help, purchased what was then an abandoned hardscrabble farm in 1983. The first 6 acres were cleared and prepared for planting. The 1985 planting included Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Vidal and Seyval. The first vintage was 1987 and the first release and opening of the winery was in 1988.
Three vineyards supply all the grapes used to make Linden wines: Hardscrabble, the estate vineyard, 21 acres surrounding the winery; Boisseau, 4 acres, 7 miles west of Linden, and Avenius, 5 acres, less than one mile north of Linden Vineyards.
An Ohio native, Jim is the Owner/Winemaker of Linden Vineyards and Winegrower of Hardscrabble. He studied in Europe. 2 years teaching of agriculture as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire led to the desire to grow grapes.
Shari is Linden’s Director and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard. A New York native, she went to college in Virginia. Since 1989 Shari’s background in laboratories and management has made Linden a well-oiled machine. Along with all her responsibilities at Linden, Shari planted her own eponymous vineyard in 1996. good acidity on the palate, with an lively finish
Pictures: Tasting - Shari Avenius, Anne Cuvelier, Jim Law and Christian G.E. Schiller (and Jonothan Weber and Annette Schiller)
Jonathan Weber is Linden’s Cellar Master. 16 acres (6 hectares). 95% sold on the premises.
The Wines we Tasted
For the wines, we had, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Jim Law and his Linden Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux, USA
For more on Linden Vineyards, see:
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia– A Profile, USA
RdV
The final stop in the late afternoon was RdV. We were received by Rutger de Vink, owner of RdV. After a glass of Champagne, Rutger gave us a tour of the winery, before having dinner with him and his partner. We focused on the 2009 wines, but also had earlier vintages.
RDV is a new, small winery about an hour west of Washington DC, founded, owned and run by Rutger de Vink. RDV produces some 1,800 cases of ultra-premium wines: the Cabernet Sauvignon driven Lost Mountain (US$ 88) and the Merlot driven Rendezvous (US$ 75). Jim Law of Linden Vineyards, who many consider as the father of the Virginia wine boom, has described his close friend Rutger de Vink as “the next generation of Virginia wine.”
“When I got into the business over 30 years ago, Napa was still growing and making Gamay and Riesling. Oregon was focusing on Muller-Thurgau, and nobody had heard of New Zealand wine. They all re-shuffled and refocused once a few leaders showed the way. It takes an epiphany wine, like the Stag’s Leap 1973 cabernet for Napa, the Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc for New Zealand or Sassicaia for Tuscany -- all these are iconic wines for their regions. I believe RdV will do the same for Virginia” Jim Law says.
The Wines we Tasted
The focus was on the 2009 wines, but we also drank earlier vintages. For the wines we had, see:
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
schiller-wine: Related Posting
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Visiting Rutger de Vink and his RdV Vineyards with Anne Cuvelier from Chateau Leoville Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux
Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos
Visiting Jennifer Breaux Blosser and Breaux Vineyards in Virginia, USA
Virginia Wines Shine in San Francisco - 2012 San Francisco International Wine Competition, USA
Judging Virginia Wines in Suffolk, Virginia - Virginia Wine Lover Magazine Wine Classic 2012
Northern Virginia Magazine October 2012: Wine Recs from Local Winos
As Close as You Can Get to (French) Champagne at the US East Coast – Claude Thibaut and His Virginia Thibaut Janisson Sparklers at screwtop Wine Bar
Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia – A Profile, USA
Boxwood Winery in Virginia: Lunch with Wine Makers Rachel Martin and Adam McTaggert in the Chai between the Tanks – TasteCamp 2012 East Kick-Off, USA
Book Review: "Beyond Jefferson's Vines - The Evolution of Quality Wine in Virginia" by Richard Leahy, USA
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
Virginia versus the World– A Blind Taste-Off, USA
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013
Bordeaux Wines and their Classifications: The Basics
Château Léoville-Poyferré, Chateau Le Crock, Didier Cuvelier in Bordeaux and the Cuvelier Los Andes Wines in Argentina
Lunch with Didier Cuvelier at Château Léoville-Poyferré in Saint-Julien, Bordeaux
Tasting with Alfred Tesseron the last 10 Vintages of Château Pontet-Canet in Washington DC, USA/France
Tasting the Wines of Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe, 4ème Cru Classé en 1855, with Owner Basil Tesseron at the French Embassy in Washington DC, USA/France
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites
Owner Jean-Bernard Grenié and Wine Journalist Panos Kakaviatos Presented the Wines of Chateau Angélus and Chateau Daugay at Black Salt Restaurant in Washington DC, USA