May 2021 Vintner’s Club Release
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 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 Petit Manseng Doux
This grape, the smallest of the Manseng grape family, grows well in Virginia because of its thick skin, which help it stand up to our summer heat, and loose clusters, which promote air circulation and make it less prone to disease. This sweet dessert wine has high acidity which keeps it crisp, with flavorful notes of fresh apple and honey. It pairs with cheesecake, pumpkin pie, carrot cake, and crème brulée.
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-plus 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.
2017 Springlot
Grown on a small-2-acre vineyard, about 3.5 miles northwest of Delaplane Cellars, our good friend John Everson tends these vines. This vintage is a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, and 23% Petit Verdot. This medium-bodied blend offers a fruit-driven palate bursting with flavors of red cherry, currant, vanilla, and a hint of smoke on the bright finish. Pair this single-vineyard blend with pork tenderloin.
2017 Left Bank Estate Reserve
This 2020 Virginia Governor’s Cup silver-medal-winning wine is produced with fruit directly from our estate vineyard. It is a blend of four of the five Bordeaux grapes and features 40% Cabernet Franc and 20% each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Merlot aged in French oak. It exhibits aromas and flavors of red fruit and plums with flavor notes of vanilla, coffee and dark chocolate. Pair with marinated London Broil, roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary, and fresh green beans with toasted almonds.
For previous Club Release Tasting Notes, please click on the following relase to view the notes: