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
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
In the Barrel Cave: Vintage 2012
We stared with the 2012 vintage. These wines are currently in barrels and not yet blended. That gave us the opportunity to taste different grape varieties at this very early stage of winemaking. In Boxwood’s barrel cave, barrels lie atop rocks that serve as humidity controls, and the room was constructed underground to help in maintaining a constant temperature of 55 to 65 degrees.
The Merlot was soft and smooth with notes of cassis and cherries and some hints of vanilla. The Cabernet Franc was clean with characteristic pepper notes. The Petit Verdot was inky with concentrated plum flavors. The Cabernet Sauvignon exhibited lovely flavors of black cherries and also a bit of plum.
In the Tank Room: Vintage 2011
From the barrel cave, Rachel led us to the tank room, where the 2011 vintage, already blended, was resting.
In 2011, September rainfall and little sunshine raised concerns of botrytis and sour rot; therefore, Boxwood opted for selective harvesting. Clusters that contained over 50% rot were not collected, and salvageable clusters were sorted berry by berry. The result? Lower yields but clean fruit.
2011 Topiary
Topiary is the St. Emilion-style blend with Cabernet Franc as the primary grape.
Garnet in the glass, notes of strawberry and garden herbs on the nose, on the palate silky with firm tannins, good finish with strawberry and spice flavors. This blend was already aged in French oak barrels for twelve months, and upon bottling it should continue to develop quite nicely.
2011 Boxwood
Boxwood is the Medoc-style blend with Cabernet Sauvignon as the primary grape.
Deep purple in the glass, notes of blackberry, dark plum, cigar box, with some anise on the nose, silky smooth with round tannins on the palate, intense finish of dark fruits. This blend was already aged in French oak barrels for twelve months, and upon bottling it should continue to develop quite nicely.
In the Tasting Room: Vintage 2010
We then went to the tasting area, to try the 2010 Boxwood and Topiary, which are already bottled.
2010 Topiary
61% Cabernet Franc 39% Merlot
Garnet in the glass, notes of strawberry, pepper, tobacco on the nose, lush dark fruit on the palate and with a subtle pepper flavor.
Boxwood 2010
56% Cabernet Sauvignon 43% Merlot 7% Petit Verdot
Full bodied with well-structured ripe tannins, blackberry dominates the palate with a long and smooth finish.
In the Library: Vintage 2007
We also tried the 2007 vintage, which according to Rachel was the first true vintage for Boxwood. 2006 was the first, but she does not count these wines.
2007 Topiary
Plum and red berry on the nose, broad mouth feel, nice blue fruits and cassis with a little leather on the palate, finishes with ripe tannins.
2007 Boxwood
Notes of blackberry, cassis, and dried cherry, coupled with a pinch of saddle leather on the nose, a lovely concentrated wine, with low acids, big fruit, and low-to-medium tannins.
Boxwood Winery
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 high: to make premium red wines with Bordeaux grape varieties and a distinct Virginia expression. Boxwood produces 5,000 cases per year.
John Kent Cook bought the estate in 2001 and commissioned renowned architect Hugh Jacobsen - with the advice of Dr. Richard Vine, Professor of Enology at Purdue University - to design a modern winery that agrees with its surroundings. The result – completed in 2005 - is a stunning four-part complex, filled with high-quality, high-tech streamlined inner workings.
The center is a reception room with a circular stainless steel tasting bar.
This space overlooks the circular cave that is totally underground and fitted with a dome ceiling. The cave fits 255 (currently housing 75) French oak barrels arranged in concentric circles.
The third structure, on the same level of the other three, is the chai with 12 stainless steel fermentation tanks.
The fourth structure houses the bottling plant and case storage.
The 170-acre property once served as a horse farm, owned in the early 1900s by General Billy Mitchell (otherwise known as the father of the Air Force) who lived there until his death.
Vineyards
Sixteen acres of grapes are planted on the property. The vineyard is monitored by a GPS custom designed system to record viticultural practices. Currently, 8 varieties of grapes grown: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Tannat, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Malbec, and Carmenere.
Wine Making Approach
The Estate grown grapes are hand harvested, brought to the winery and sorted. After being destemmed on the press pad, the whole, uncrushed grapes go through a temperature-controlled, whole-berry fermentation in the stainless steel tanks. “When berries are not crushed, wine ferments little by little, which adds to the complexity” explained wine maker Adam McTaggert over lunch. Then “punch-downs, pumpovers, and delestage are performed.” Once fermentation is complete, the wine is pumped through stainless steel pipes into 100 percent French oak barrels nestled in the hillside cave room. Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrels. After aging for up to a year, the wine is pumped to the bottling room, where Italian machinery fills, corks, and labels the bottles on the premises.
Rachel Martin
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).
Rachel is Boxwood’s world ambassador and her relaxed and inviting presence immediately put guests as ease. “We want Virginia wine to be on the international playing field,” she enthuses, but notes, “You’ve got to start at home. You have to increase your quality for your local consumer.”
Stephane Derenoncourt
John Kent Cooke brought famed French flying winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt to consult with Boxwood. Stéphane Derenoncourt is entirely self-taught. He and his wife now work with a populous portfolio of estates in Bordeaux and elsewhere, including Domaine de Chevalier, Canon-la-Gaffelière, Smith Haut Lafitte, Prieuré-Lichine and Beauséjour Duffau-Lagarrosse. In June 2008, Derenoncourt and Vignerons Consultants were hired by Francis Ford Coppola to work on the Napa Valley property Rubicon Estate Winery.
schiller-wine: Related Posting
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
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
An Afternoon with Jordan Harris, Winemaker of Tarara, Virginia, USA
Vineyard Walk, Wine Tasting in the Vineyard and Lunch in the Tarara Tank Cellar with Wine Maker Jordan Harris, Tarara Winery, USA
Bordeaux Trip September 2012, France
The Wine Empire of the von Neipperg Family in France, Bulgaria and Germany
Château Léoville-Poyferré, Chateau Le Crock, Didier Cuvelier in Bordeaux and the Cuvelier Los Andes Wines in Argentina
Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) on North America Tour in Washington DC - Schiller’s Favorites
Château Léoville-Poyferré Winemaker Dinner with Anne Cuvelier at Eola in Washington DC, USA
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
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Wine and Culture Tour to Germany Coming up in August 2013
Ombiasy Wine Tours: Bordeaux Trip Coming up in September 2013