First of all, let's get this straight. I'm no stranger to Jefferson, Burnley or Barboursville. One of the tasting room employees at Burnley recognized my partner and I even before the first pour. Although, it had been a while since I've visited any of the Charlottesville area wineries. We set out on Saturday, August 7, to visit our old favorites.
Overall, I was impressed with all three. The day began picking peaches on nearby Carter Mountain. I highly recommend this to anyone visiting Monticello. It's quite a climb (even for a Jeep) but it is definitely worth it. Also, Prince Michel has a tasting room there. We didn't stop in.
The day itself was bittersweet as I'm finally relocating to North Carolina permanently. I never knew I was this proud of Virginia until I moved to another state, especially North Carolina where I'm finding it difficult to take the wine produced in this state seriously. As a matter of fact, North Carolina has a lot to learn from Jefferson, Burnley and Barboursville. These wineries are very distinct but consistently produce exceptional wine. Jefferson Vineyards can be a little stuffy (the woman beside us tasting asked us if the wine pourer was "a dick.") but is very committed to Virginia wine history and Mr. Jefferson's vision. Burnley is very family-owned (the tasting room makes you feel as if you are back in 1984 which is not a bad thing). They put their emphasis on making quality products and honestly, it was the only winery where I bought "souvenir" wine. Barboursville is very popular and has an extensive list. The wines here seem more premium, mainly because of their price points. However, the scenery is breathtaking even on a hot day as the Barboursville ruins stand in a ghostly haze and orchestra of cicadas just down the road. It's very evident the Italian owners, the Zonins, have quite an influence on the winery culture and its products.
JEFFERSON VINEYARDS
As I mentioned, Jefferson Vineyards can be stuffy, especially to newbie wine drinkers. An older gentleman, very well-versed in viti/viniculture but a little grumpy, attended to my partner and I as well as another young couple. Shaking my head and smiling, he was explaining how the Chardonnay is made WITHOUT malolactic fermentation. Immediately I was quizzed on just what malolactic fermentation is - I passed to his surprise. Though I did not know that malolactic fermentation is responsible for the buttery flavors in Chardonnay. Jefferson Vineyards not relying on malolactic fermentation was what set it apart from its competitors on the Chardonnay pedestal. However, some prefer the buttery and wine pourers at other wineries proudly point it out to their guests. As soon as the wine pourer ventured away to grab another bottle of Rosé, the young couple turned to us. "Is it just me, or is he a total dick?" asked the woman. "He's been here a while. He knows his stuff. But yeah, he's a dick," I replied. The woman giggled and explained that she wanted to leave him a nasty note on the wine dossier. The douchebag attitude in wine tasting rooms is not typical behavior of the winery staff (you'll see why in my account of Barboursville Vineyards).
In the end, there were some notable wines. Although it was crowded in the tasting room and our wine pourer was "a dick," it was still an enjoyable experience.
Wines I recommend: Chardonnay Reserve '09, Rosé '09, and Petit Verdot '08.
Overall: 7.5/10
BURNLEY VINEYARDS
I like everything about Burnley. Okay, maybe not the Dog Gone Red, which smelled like wet dog but tasted slightly better. Actually, as you enter the tasting room, chances are you'll be greeted by Cooper, the uber-friendly German Shepard that Dog Gone Red is created for. Dog Gone Red is more fun than it is tasteful.
However, Burnley has a wine list chock full of awesome products. Like Jefferson Vineyards, Burnley's tasting room was very crowded. After several minutes of petting Cooper we found a niche at the bar. "You look familiar." The wine pourer examined us as we waited for the first pour. Burnley is one of our favorite wineries in Virginia. The Reeder family has really put gloss and glamor aside and concentrated on making damn good Virginia wine. And they've been doing it for a while. Their wine list is very diverse. One minute you'll be tasting a perfectly crafted Norton and then Aurora, a sweet red wine that has natural flavorings of chocolate and raspberries. I applaud wineries that take a risk and appeal to people other than wine lovers, but chocolate lovers. Having fun every now and then is important. In the end, I went home with a bottle of Aurora and Norton Vintage 2007. Most importantly, I still hold Burnley Vineyards in the highest regard (despite the Dog Gone Red). They have never let me down.
Wines I recommend: Norton Vintage 2007, Spicy Rivanna, Peach Fuzz, Rivanna White
Overall: 9.5/10
BARBOURSVILLE VINEYARDS
My partner, Jason, doesn't care for Barboursville Vineyards, but I think this day changed all that. He doesn't like how you must wiggle your way up to the white wine pourer and then proceed to the other side of the room to the red wine pourer. I just love Barboursville Vineyards through and through. It's usually our last stop on our winery expedition in the Charlottesville area. Though in my 10 years of wine tasting, I've never bought a single bottle directly from the winery. Price is a main factor but worth every penny. Barboursville wine is premium. Bottom line. You'd think that the price would increase the stuffiness and attitude of tasting room culture, actually it's quite relaxed. During our visit, a large (but well-behaved) bachelorette party visited the winery during our visit. We had to rely on the wine list descriptions for an actual explanation - as there was no real interaction with the wine pourers except reminding them what we needed to taste next. We went through the whites so quickly that I noticed I had penciled in stars next to almost every single one. Not a bad white, but none that really caught my attention. By the time we got to the reds, the crowds started to linger and mingle as if it were happy hour. The wine pourer, a very charming gentleman, started us out of order with Nebbiolo Reserve 2007, one of the most premium red wines. My tongue and heart melted. 2007 was one of the best vintages of red wines for Barboursville. The Nebbiolo Reserve 2007 captures that magic and will age well. A very complex red with berry and tobacco notes. A cigar with the wine would be very apropos. The $30+ price tag is also very appropriate for such a well-crafted, though comparatively small production, Nebbiolo. I wasn't the only one who recognized the greatness of this wine. While the wine pourer wasn't looking (and attending to the bachelorette party), a woman who obviously thought wine tasting meant happy hour snatched the bottle and poured the Nebbiolo in her girlfriends' glasses. The wine pourer returned and noticed that only a dribble of Nebbiolo was left. The women rested their full wine glasses back on the bar. The wine pourer snatched all 4 or 5 glasses and dumped the wine onto the floor. "Where is our wine?" Minutes later, the wine pourer explained to us that it is better to make them feel as if they wasted great wine than point out that they were wrong to help themselves. To know that Nebbiolo went to waste because of a few misfit wine-illiterate women makes me cringe. I turned my attention to the wine dossier and tried not to think about wasted Nebbiolo. In the end, it's obvious that Barboursville knows wine and knows how to tame Virginia soil into making superb wine that I'm sure would rival vintages in their home country of Italy. If Virginia were to declare war with France and Italy viticulturally, I'd want to have Barboursville Vineyards as a general.
Wines I recommend: Philéo N.V., Viognier Reserve, Barbera Reserve 2007, Cabarnet Franc Reserve 2007, Nebbiolo Reserve 2007 (*****), and Octagon 2006.
Overall: 8.5/10
Virginia history is just as rich. The Barboursville ruins are truly one of my favorite places in Virginia. The overgrown boxwood encapsulate what was once a Neo-Palladin style structure built by Mr. Jefferson (we in Virginia refer to Thomas Jefferson as Mr. Jefferson). It was originally built in 1822 and destroyed in a Christmas Day fire in 1884.
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