Tag: Breaux Vineyards

Celebration Wines

/ Paul / 1 Comment

Last night we had some friends over to help celebrate Warren’s birthday. I’m not a cook so Warren created a wonderful meal. Of course we had to serve Virginia wines with the meal.

We began the evening with white cheeses, baked shrimp wontons, and fruit. We paired these items with the 2008 Durant White from Pollak Vineyards. We enjoyed the crisp, fruity, mineral nature of this wine. It went perfectly with our food choices.

Warren then served a garden salad with a lemon vinaigrette. We paired the salad with the 2008 Sarah’s Chapeau from Aspen Dale Winery. This is a blend of vidal blanc and sauvignon blanc. The fruity, off-dry nature of this wine paired well with the salad.

For the main course Warren prepared a hearty beef stew with carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, and fresh thyme. We selected the 2008 Petit Verdot from Pollak Vineyards. We noted blackberry and plum notes and an earthiness. We poured the last two bottles I had on my rack. Unfortunately the Petit Verdot is sold out and I won’t be able to get any more. I’m looking forward to the next vintage!

We finished the evening with a very moist, chocolate birthday cake. I selected the 2009 Nebbiolo Ice Water Bent Barrels from the Cellar Selection from Breaux Vineyards. The delicious sweet strawberry notes complimented the chocolate cake. Everyone mentioned how much they enjoyed this one.

At the end of the evening we all decided that the 2008 Petit Verdot from Pollak Vineyards should get the gold star.

Warren and I continued his birthday celebration today by visiting Gray Ghost VIneyards, one of our favorite wineries. We are very familiar with their wines but always enjoy a tasting. We also enjoy chatting with Al, Cheryl and Amy about all things wine.

After our tasting we enjoyed some lunch nibbles with a bottle of the 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. What a wonderful bottle of wine. We noted dark fruit, tobacco, ash, and a lingering finish. We can always count on a great time at Gray Ghost.

If you visit any of these wineries anytime soon, please tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Paul’s Pick

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I had an early dinner tonight without wine so I decided to peruse my rack for something different. I had several things to choose from but decided on the 2007 Merlot French Oak Select from the Cellar Selection from Breaux Vineyards. I was really looking for just a sipper but ended up with a bigger wine than I was expecting. On the bottle it says it was aged in new French oak barrels for 31 months. It being from 2007, I probably should have left it on the rack longer. Over all though, I really enjoyed this one but should have had food as well.

I see my ChapStick left a lip print on my glass!

On the nose I got a hit of coffee at first and then it gave way to some dark fruit and tobacco. In the mouth I noted dark fruit, prune, mocha, and tobacco. I also noted some pretty big tannins. They coated my tongue pretty strongly. The bottle does mention firm tannins so I should have been expecting them. There is a lingering finish with fruit characteristics. I know I’ve mentioned it many times before but being a club member at Breaux really does have it’s benefits. Having access to wines like this is just one of the many benefits. Next time you visit Breaux Vineyards tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Pick Up Party at Breaux

/ Paul / 3 Comments

On Sunday we went to Breaux Vineyards to pick my Cellar Club selections. The selections were the 2008 Malbec and the 2007 Lot 751. We picked up the wines at the Pick Up party for club members. Breaux treats their club members very well. They set up the tank room with a long table on one side and smaller round tables on the other. There was a wonderful selection of foods that paired well with the wines. They also had a large screen showing photos from recent events at Breaux. Jen Breaux was there to welcome guests as well as many Breaux tasting associates.

Silvia waved us over to taste at her table. We started with the 2008 Malbec. I really enjoyed this one. It had a dark rich color, fruit forward in the mouth with a hint of tobacco. I think this one is ready to drink now but I’ll probably let it sit on the rack awhile. Next up was the 2007 Lot 751. This is a meritage style blend. Warren jotted down rich and complex. I liked the dark fruit on the nose and in the mouth with a hint of spice. It is young and will definitely be better in a few years. I would suggest putting this one on the rack and forget about it for a few years. With the nibbles they provided we enjoyed a glass of the 2002 Cellar Club Meritage. We noted dark fruit aromas, violet and licorice, tobacco and similar flavors in the mouth. We both noted a longer finish. This one is ready to enjoy now. We could see this with a nice thick steak.

One of the benefits of membership is access to some nice library wines on sale. After purchasing a few of my favorites, we said our goodbyes and headed back out on the wine trail. Next time you visit Breaux Vineyards tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Dinner Wines

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Last night we had the 2008 Viognier from Horton Vineyards as our sipper. We had a very buttery brie with crackers. We notice its light straw color. On the nose we noted pear, citrus, and melon. In the mouth we picked up grapefruit and lemon zest as well as the characteristics we noted on the nose. We thought this was a very nice pairing with the cheese an crackers.

For dinner we had the 2008 Jen’s Jambalaya from Breaux Vineyards. We had ham steaks with green beans and mashed potatoes. The wine went well with our meal. We noted floral notes and mango on the nose and pineapple, melon, and peach in the mouth. We know this wine is a blend of whites but we’re just not sure which whites. Warren noted it was alsatian style with maybe vidal, traminette or gwurtztraminer. Either way, it was very nice. I was sad to see my last bottle go but it was the perfect pairing with our meal.

Breaux Vineyards

/ Paul / 1 Comment

Warren’s parents are in town for Thanksgiving so we decided to take them to a few wineries in Loudoun County on Sunday. I also needed to pick up my Cellar Club selection at Breaux Vineyards so we stopped there first. We always have a great time at Breaux. Our favorite tasting associates Bruce and Silvia, were at the tasting bar and Bruce conducted our tasting. We also ran into our wine friends Susan and Stacy.

Since we visit Breaux on a regular basis there usually isn’t anything new for us to taste but this time there was a new cab franc and several barrel samples to try. After sampling all the regulars, we go to the 2006 Marquis De Lafayette. It was released about two months ago. It’s 100% Cabernet Franc and we noted dark plums, raspberry, pepper, and spice. It has a smooth ending as well. We thought this one would be perfect with turkey on Thanksgiving. While at the tasting bar we were also able to taste the 2009 Viognier. We really enjoyed the floral and honeysuckle notes on this one. There is so little left that it’s not even on the tasting menu. If you want a bottle you need to get to the tasting room soon. The 2009 Viognier received one of our gold stars!

After our regular tasting we moved on to the barrel samples. We were able to taste samples of the 2008 cab franc, the 2008 malbec, the 2008 syrah, the 2008 petit verdot, and the 2007 nebbiolo. We’re not sure if these barrels will be blended to make other wines or if they will become stand alone wines. It’s too early to tell. However, we did enjoy the 2008 cab franc. It’s really fruity right now with hints of jam and spice. We think this one will turn out to be really nice. We decided to award a good star to this one. We look forward to tasting it in the bottle.

After tasting all the wonderful wines and chatting it up with Bruce and Silvia and Susan and Stacy, Warren opted to enjoy a glass of the 2008 Barrel Select Chardonnay and his dad selected the 2004 Merlot to enjoy on the patio. If you stop at Breaux anytime soon, tell them Virginia Wine Time sent you!

Breaux Vineyards’ Cabernet Vertical Tasting

/ Warren / 2 Comments

This past Saturday, we attended a vertical tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon at Breaux Vineyards.  Samples from previous and current vintages were paired with appropriate food courses. On hand to present the wines and their profiles was winemaker David Collins.

For those who may not know, a vertical tasting is a tasting of wine of the same variety but from different years.  In this case, Breaux Vineyards presented a vertical tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon that included the 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2006 vintages with barrel samples from the 2007 and 2008 vintages.  However, the event started with guests receiving a sample pour of the 2006 Meritage as they made their way to the tables.  This younger, fruit-forward blend was the perfect way to begin as it prepared palates for the more full-bodied offerings to follow. 

The first wines offered for sample were the barrel samples, the 2008 and 2007.  Both were still very young with the 2008 very tight on the nose; of course, this is to be expected with such a young wine still in its developmental stages. The 2007 barrel sample has signs of potential greatness with its characteristics of dark fruit and cedar. A tannic presence still prevails, but this will smooth with time.  Both wines paired nicely with the braised beef rib served over polenta; this course included a sinful chocolate truffle that I thought took the tannic edge off of both barrel samples while bringing forward the fruit characters.

The second course featured my favorite dish of the evening—pork wellington served over wild rise and a pomegranate crème fraiche.  An interesting twist to the wellington was the inclusion of a layer of mushroom slices between the pork and pastry shell.  This added a layer of earthiness to the flavor profile which perhaps was why this course was partnered with the earthier 2006 and 2005 vintages.  Of these vintages, my preferred the 2006; however, both vintages offered aromas that I described as leather and tobacco with tannins still more pronounced in the mouth.

The third course featured my favorite wines of the evening—the 2002 and 2001 vintages.  In fact, my gold star of the evening was given to the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Here now was the melding of fruit character and tannins to present a more complex wine with a nice, long finish.  I detected some smokiness on the nose with dark plum, black cherry, and mocha in the mouth.  Nice, silky tannins, too! “Excellent” sums it up!  Oh—the food pairing was just as excellent.  Grilled salmon over saffron rice served aside a chive rosewater-infused oil pecorino-romano.  The 2001 was a close second for me; the fruit profile here was more extracted than the 2002 which no doubt came with the extra year of aging. 
The evening ended with lagniappe, which in New Orleans means “bonus”.  Our bonus pour was the 2009 Cabernet Rose, a tank sample of an upcoming rose offering.  Another “still young” sample, this rose should settle down quite nicely in time for summer. 

So what was the final vote for the vertical tasting?  Did Paul award any gold stars?My final verdict was as follows: *2002, 2001, 2007, 2006, 2005.  Paul’s vote went like this: *2001, 2002, 2007, 2005, 2006.  Neither of us included the 2008 in the mix since it was still too young to judge; we wanted to be fair to the 2008 vintage!

These events are always fund and informative.  For winemakers, it’s an opportunity to showcase wines from several vintages with each vintage the result of varying circumstances not the least of which is the weather.  It was to surprise, for example, that the 2007 barrel sample presented quite nicely; that year was one of the best in Virginia with weather conditions resembling those of Napa in California. 

The evening flew by too quickly.  We caught up with Jennifer Breaux Blosser who heads the hospitality and events team at Breaux Vineyards and Sylvia Miller, one of our favorite tasting associates at Breaux Vineyards.  We also met SuzieLin (one of our Twitter buddies) and Joel Timmins for the Examiner. It was great meeting them and chatting about the vertical tasting.

Be sure to visit Breaux Vineyards, and do inquire about events such as this vertical tasting to learn more about Virginia wines through the years.  Please mention that Virginia Wine Time sent you.