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 Cuvleier, 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 in Bordeaux, Annette Schiller from Wine Tours by Ombiasy and Boxwood Winery General Manager Rachel Martin, USA (forthcoming)
Bordeaux Meets Virginia: Touring Virginia with Anne Cuvelier, Chateau Leoville-Poyferre in St. Julien, Bordeaux (forthcoming)
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
This posting focuses on Linden. We visited Linden Vineyards in the early afternoon. We were guided by Jonathan Weber, who is Linden’s cellar master. Later, Shari Avenius, Linden’s General Manager and Owner/Winegrower of Avenius Vineyard and Jim Law joined us.
For more on Linden, see here:
TasteCamp 2012 in Virginia, USA – A Tour d’Horizont
Jim Law and Linden Vineyards in Virginia– A Profile, USA
Linden Vineyards
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.
“In 2002 we built our dream crush/press facility that we believe will put us in the position to make great wines. New sorting tables and the gentler handling of grapes have already yielded wines with more purity and finesse” said Jim.
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.
Jim Law
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.
Jim’s first vineyard job was in Indiana where he traded work for a place to live. He then got a real job in Ohio at Chalet Debonne where he learned the nuts and bolts of grape growing and cellar work. In 1981 Jim was hired to start a winery in the Shenandoah Valley where he fell in love with the area and viticultural possibilities. In the mid 1980s, while establishing Linden Vineyards, he consulted for other wineries and taught winegrowing at local community colleges.
Shari Avenius
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.
Linden Wines
Jim Law: “I am always mindful that a wine’s first job is to complement a meal. Because of this I prefer wines that have good acidity and structure, with moderate alcohol. My inspiration comes from Europe. The vineyards are my focus. Soil, site and micro-climate are more important than grape variety. We are winegrowers and our best wines carry the vineyard designation on the label.
Many of our wines are unfined or unfiltered. We work hard in the vineyard to get as much concentration from the grape as possible. We are non-interventionists in the cellar. The result is wine with more flavor and texture. This can be at the expense of sediment or haze in the bottle. This is a risk that we feel is worth the benefit.”
Vineyard Practices
“Our vineyard practices are French inspired. For many years I traveled to California to learn techniques and philosophies in the vineyard. Eventually it became apparent that I needed to look east rather than west. In the non-Mediterranean viticultural areas of France, growers experience situations similar to ours here in the mountains of Virginia: diverse soils, erratic weather and a small scale. They have learned to micro-manage each site according to its needs. They have learned how to change vineyard practices as the growing season unfolds: hot, wet, dry, cold.”
We got a tour of the Hardscrabble Vineyard by Jonathan Weber.
Tasting Linden Wines
We started with some barrel tasting in the cave. Then we moved on and had 4 wines in the tasting room.
Avenius Chardonnay 2011
The Avenius site is known for its rocky soils and thus produces leaner wines with mineral characteristics.
Floral notes combined with lemon and a hint of vanilla on the nose, reminds me of a Chablis, fresh, lemon and mineral notes on the palate, good finish
Avenius Chardonnay 2010
I picked up citrus and tree fruit notes on the nose, very fresh (no malolactic), mineral aromas and 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)
Hardscrabble Red 2010
Hardscrabble Vineyard is on top of the Blue Ridge at 1,200 to 1,400 feet with an eastern to southern slope. moderately shallow, well drained rocky, mineral soils give depth, structure and length. Vines planted from 1985 to 2006. Older vines planted at a density of 600 to 800 vines per acre. Younger vineyards at 1,500 to 2,500 vines per acre.
83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot.
Red fruits and cedar notes on the nose, prominent tannins with flavors of cherries, raspberries and hints of black pepper on the palate, good finish.
Hardscrabble Red 2009
64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot and 7% Cabernet Franc.
Jim Law: The 2009 vintage included for the first time our new steep slope plantings. We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. 15% bleed. An average of 5 days cold soak. Fermentation begins naturally (no added yeast) in small one-ton fermenters. Punched down and pumped over averaging two times per day. Extensive post fermentation macerations make for a total cuvaison of 28 to 30 days. Malo in barrels. The wine was aged in new (50%) and slightly used French oak barrels for 21 months. Bottled July of 2011. Nose: Blueberry jam, pâtisserie, vanilla lift and smoky underbrush. Palate: Dried cherries, savory, very linear, energetic, and fresh with assertive, long tannins.
Leaving
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