January 2021 Vintner’s Club Release
2019 Duet
Duet will do whatever you want it to do. A blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Petit Verdot, it is ruby-colored and exhibits lush aromas of cherry, vanilla, raspberries, clove and nutmeg. This wine also has wonderful notes of red licorice, red fruit notes, dark chocolate and black pepper on the palate. Easy to pair with something casual, like pasta, pizza, burgers; or, you can dress it up and serve it with a fancier dinner of beef or salmon.
2019 ICOE Selection Limited Reserve (375 ml)
ICOE stands for In Case of Emergency, open bottle. This wine has aromas of red cherry, earth and leather with black pepper, vanilla and cranberry that leads to a bright finish on the palate. It is 84% Cabernet Franc, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon press fraction. Bottled in limited-edition, 375-ml bottles, this is a special addition to the Wine Club January 2021 release.
2017 L’ Esprit de NoVA
L’Esprit de NoVA, the Spirit of Northern Virginia, is just that, a blend of Bordeaux-style grapes that are grown at several Northern Virginia vineyards. This blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot and 17% each Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon has a medium + ruby intensity that exhibits aromas of butterscotch, blackberry, rose petals, fig, smoke and cranberry. All the aromas come through on the palate with deep tannins and a lingering finish.
2019 Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay
Fermented in mostly neutral barrels. It is pale straw in color and exhibits aromas of toast, grapefruit, banana, lemon, pear and mango. On the palate, you also may taste vanilla on the crisp finish that gives this a refined elegance in your glass.
2019 Mélange Blanc
This is a medley of whites: 67% Chardonnay, aged in neutral French oak, 22% stainless steel Viognier and 11% Petit Manseng, aged in neutral French barrels. This well-balanced wine has aromas of fresh peaches and honeysuckle, followed by flavors of citrus, pineapple, pear and apple. Try this wine with halibut, grilled chicken or shrimp scampi.
2019 Reserve Chardonnay
Fermented in second-use barrels, this is one of three distinctively different Delaplane Cellars 2019 Chardonnay wines. All were manipulated a little differently in the fermentation and aging process to bring out subtle differences. This Reserve Chardonnay exhibits notes of apple, pear and citrus on the nose that you can taste on the palate, as well. But this Chardonnay’s lemon-citrus finish turns to a mild cream thanks to a second, malolactic fermentation in 20% of the barrels.
For previous Club Release Tasting Notes, please click on the following relase to view the notes: