It’s that time again – time for Virginia Wine Chat. This month our host, Frank Morgan of Drink What YOU Like, made his way up to Fabbioli Cellars in the Loudon County area to chat with Doug Fabbioli about winemaking, the wines we were tasting, and Virginia Wine as a whole. I’ve embedded the video from Thursday below (since Frank remembered to record this month), or you can visit the Virginia Wine Chat Ustream Channel and check it out for yourself.
But, let’s look at the wines.
2012 Cabernet Franc – $24
First up was the 2012 Cabernet Franc, a blend of 80% Cab Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Tannat. In the glass this wine was a light, garnet color, and on the nose I picked up bright red fruit notes that eventually led into a woodsy note that was quite nice.
In the mouth the wine was tart, with notes of cranberry, black tea and oak. My wife and I actually opened up this wine a bit before the kickoff of the Virginia Wine Chat event since Thursday was my birthday and I decided I wanted wine with my steak and couldn’t see it to open another bottle before the tasting – it was quite tasty with the herby marinade that went onto my steak.
2012 Tannat – $45
Next up we tried the 2012 Tannat, a blend of 75% Tannat, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot. Dark red in color with notes of clove, tobacco, earth/moss and cedar on the nose, the wine showed red currant and cranberries in the mouth. This wine was very good, sippable but definitely food friendly.
I’ll admit that I struggled a bit with the price on this one – it’s a good wine there’s no doubt, but while I absolutely thought that the Cabernet Franc was worth the $24, I’m not sure that I’d pay $45 for the Tannat. That being said, it is a good wine and I did enjoy it.
Aperitif Pear Wine – $35
We finished up the tasting with a pear wine. The pears are grown on the Fabbioli grounds, and a portion (50% I believe) of the pears are sent off to Catoctin Creek Distilling Company after fermentation to be turned into pear brandy, which is then folded into the wine.
Now I’ll admit that walking into this one I was worried about it being too sweet (3% RS). I couldn’t have been more wrong. On the nose I picked up butterscotch and petrol, while in the mouth the wine showed ginger and vanilla. Now, the wine is sweet, there’s no denying that, but whether it’s the brandy that’s been incorporated or just fantastic winemaking, the wine is far from syrupy and both my wife and I really enjoyed it.
During the tasting we drank this wine at room temperature and it was quite tasty. A few days later my wife and I finished the wine chilled with a baked brie for lunch and it was also quite tasty. Room temp by itself, chilled with food would be my recommendation for this one.
Next Up…
Thanks again to Frank and Doug Fabbioli for another great Virginia Wine Chat. Next month (December 11) we’ll be doing Trump Winery, so be sure to tune in for that. Now, as promised, the video of the discussion between Frank and Doug.
