Barboursville Octagon

[Joe H]

For years many considered this to be the benchmark for a Virginia red. In a recent column Dave Matthews noted that the '09 Octagon which has not been released yet may be their best ever. I am guessing the previous best was their '07 which I've had several bottles of and really liked a lot. ('07 was a great vintage in VA) Wegman's briefly had this on sale for about $39 in several of their stores and I noted it was gone in a week or so. It was $50 at the winery which long ago sold out of the '07. The '08 is a "different" wine.

This afternoon I found two bottles of '07 Octagon at the Safeway a mile from my house. They are selling it for $35 a bottle if you buy six (or a mixed case). The single bottle price is $39. I am guessing quite a few Safeways in VA have a bottle or two of '07 Octagon sitting around on their shelves. For someone who may want to taste the previous Virginia benchmark for a red and is looking for a "Saturday night" wine you may want to give this some consideration if you happen to see it.

Dave's column from the Post about Barboursville's '09 Octagon winning the 2013 Virginia Governor's Cup: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/barboursville-earns-its-fourth-va-governors-cup/2013/02/25/bdf05e1e-7a3f-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html

Addendum to the above: I am typing this @6:45 and have opened a bottle of the '07 which I bought. It needs time to open. Even after six years.

Addendum II: it is now 8:45 and the bottle has been open for two and one half hours. (I am proud that there is anything in the bottle!) Wow! Everything that Dave and the VA Board said about the '09 is also true about the '07: this is a wonderful wine. I only wish that I was just starting to taste...

Give it two hours.

[Choirgirl21]

Can they not hold wines back for the VA governor's cup? The winemaker at Barboursville mentions the possibility that they haven't received more accolades as a result of the style of winemaking and it being a wine meant to age. You'd think they could address that by holding the wine back a few years before entering. That was ultimately what BAV decided to do with our flagship wine for the same reason.

Bit of an aside, I'm just curious. I haven't been to Barboursville in a while. When the weather warms up just a tiny bit I'll have to get down there for a hike and a tasting.

[Joe H]

Choirgirl21, your winery, Black Ankle, has a beautiful candle lit tasting room that we really enjoyed on a Friday visit a couple of months ago. We have not been to Boordy Vineyards yet but Black Ankle was a wonderful experience that spoke well for Maryland-where I grew up.

Octagon and several other VA wines are interesting from the perspective that they really do benefit from extended time after being opened. On another thread I talked about Delaplane Cellars Left Bank Reserve (same price point as Octagon) and tasting it 24 hours after it was first opened. Both Octagon and Left Bank Reserve really do improve with the extra day. I had some left of the Octagon and it was as good today as it was yesterday.

If I could make a suggetion, Delaplane Cellars, off of I 66 and Hillsborough, about 35 miles west of 495 have a great deal of ambience and character-as Black Ankle does. In particular Delaplane's view is incredible located halfway up Lost Mountain. Hillsborough feels, for all the world, like it is just outside of Panzano in Chianti. They are also both within an hour of the Beltway and each has an excellent red representative of VA (Hillsborough's is called Onyx). Having been to your winery if I were trying to steer you anywhere in VA that is reasonably close these, along with RDV (appointment is necessary, about two miles from Delaplane) are the ones I would suggest. Fifteen or so miles further out would introduce Glen Manor who have their own excellent red, Hodder Hill and their own incredible view out the rear, looking UP a mountain, an Austrian setting if you will. I should also mention Linden whose Hardscrabble is a notable VA wine. The winery itself is steeped in local wine history and one of the prettiest.

If you go as far as Charlottesville (Barboursville is approximately ten miles this side) also consider Keswick who make their own outstanding cab reserve. On back roads this is about a 10 or so minute drive from Barboursville. Keswick also had an excellent syrah (as does Delaplane).

Whether it is yourself, Black Ankle, twenty or thirty minutes north of the Montgomery county line across I 70, Hillsborough, Delaplane, RDV or perhaps another 75 to 100 wineries within an hour's ring of the DC beltway we are extremely fortunate to have so many beautiful, atmospheric wineries of character, setting and developing excellence so close to us. For some of these wines it is no longer a matter that this is a "good Virginia wine" or a "good Maryland wine." We are now at a point where there are some wines that are good-whether grown and made in Napa, Walla Walla, Frederick or Fauquier counties.

I must also say that I have wine from several VA wineries that now have three or four years of bottle age-after their release from the barrel-and they are really drinking well right now. Personally, I have huge expectations for '09 RDV Lost Mountain, '10 Left Bank Reserve from Delaplane ('07 is excellent), the '09 Onyx (the '07 is full bodied, jammy and mouth coating), and at least a half dozen more wineries' efforts that have quickly taken Virginia red to the next level.

As your Black Ankle has. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts if you visit them.

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Mid Atlantic's wineries. We are fortuante to have some of the most beautiful in North America (yes, I am including Walla Walla, Oregon, Napa, Carmel and Kelowna, B. C. and the Niagara region in saying this). There is now wine here to be purchased and carried as a gift to a Michelin starred chef in France, Germany, Italy or Spain-who, after tasting it, will want more.

And they are close.

It is also time for the better ones to be introduced into the D. C. area restaurants where they can be known.

[Choirgirl21]

I'm a wine club member at Glen Manor and have been to Linden many times (big fan of their reserve tastings in particular). Those are 2 of the wineries I ALWAYS recommend to anyone who comes into Black Ankle and is interested in tasting in VA, along with Chester Gap since it's within reasonable driving distance of the other 2 and they were making some lovely wines the last time I was there. I have also been to Keswick several times although it's been a while as last time I was less impressed with the wines themselves although I love the ability to taste on the front porch on a nice day.

I've been to a ton of VA wineries, long before I was ever going to the MD ones. In fact, Delaplane is the only one you mention that I am not familiar with (I haven't been to RDV yet either, but that is more an issue of the appt/high tasting fee than anything else - not that it will prohibit me entirely, it just hasn't happened yet). I used to be a huge fan of Hillsborough, they do have a beautiful tasting room, but last time I was really disenchanted by their switch to table service for their tastings. Whether the wine tasted worse to me as a result, or the vintage or some other change led me to like them less, I didn't leave with any wine that time and haven't been back since. It would be worth giving them another shot, although I will admit I was a bigger fan of their whites and rose than their reds (at the price points) when I did enjoy them.

I'm really glad you enjoyed your experience at Black Ankle, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to do your tasting, although I doubt I would have known you if I were. Please feel free (and this goes to anyone on DR) to PM me if you have a visit planned so I can give them a heads up, or introduce myself if I am there. I was just up there yesterday for a barrel tasting of some of our upcoming red wine releases and I am really excited about what's happening at the winery (including the introduction of 2 new wines this year).

[Toogs]

For years many considered this to be the benchmark for a Virginia red. In a recent column Dave Matthews noted that the '09 Octagon which has not been released yet may be their best ever. I am guessing the previous best was their '07 which I've had several bottles of and really liked a lot. ('07 was a great vintage in VA) Wegman's briefly had this on sale for about $39 in several of their stores and I noted it was gone in a week or so. It was $50 at the winery which long ago sold out of the '07. The '08 is a "different" wine.

I assume you mean Dave McIntyre? Dave Matthews prefers Bleinheim. (YUCK)

[Joe H]

I assume you mean Dave McIntyre? Dave Matthews prefers Bleinheim. (YUCK)

As I get older I screw up. Humble, embarassed apologies to Mr. McIntyre.

[plarkins]

This afternoon I found two bottles of '07 Octagon at the Safeway a mile from my house. They are selling it for $35 a bottle if you buy six (or a mixed case). The single bottle price is $39. I am guessing quite a few Safeways in VA have a bottle or two of '07 Octagon sitting around on their shelves. For someone who may want to taste the previous Virginia benchmark for a red and is looking for a "Saturday night" wine you may want to give this some consideration if you happen to see it.

I'm glad you mentioned this as I've been poking around the wine sections of my nearby Safeways looking for the '07. I took an interest in local wine after most of the '07's were gone, so I was pleased to find 5 bottles of the '07 Octagon ($43/bottle for 6) at the Safeway in McLean (Chain Bridge Rd). There are now four.

[Joe H]

I'm glad you mentioned this as I've been poking around the wine sections of my nearby Safeways looking for the '07. I took an interest in local wine after most of the '07's were gone, so I was pleased to find 5 bottles of the '07 Octagon ($43/bottle for 6) at the Safeway in McLean (Chain Bridge Rd). There are now four.

We went to the vertical tasting at Barboursville yesterday where they also released the '09 Octagon. I believe there were eight vintages of Octagon being poured including 1999 and 2001 as well as the '07 and '09. They were also selling older bottles of this including the '07 for $75 and the '01 for $100. Both the '99 and '01 were remarkable bottles that are probably at their peak right now. The '07 was still tight. The '09 has an incredible nose but I will try to wait several or more years before opening my first bottle. I thought there was a lot of complexity to it. I kept coming back to another taste, over and over. At the end I bought a case and consider it a very good investment. After seeing the '07 for $75 at the winery the Safeway price is even more of a bargain.

I must say for anyone reading this who might hesitate to acknowledge Va of producing a great red they should have had a taste of the '01 Octagon. Dave MacIntyre in his blog thought the '09 might be the best yet.

I hope I have the patience to wait.

[Mark Dedrick]

I discovered that I have a bottle of the 2006 Octagon in my cellar right now. Any idea how this is drinking, and what I should expect when I do open it? While I've been drinking more and more Virginia wine recently, it is not a region where I have a ton of knowledge.

[Joe H]

Sorry, no idea about the '06. I believe it was $60 as a "library" wine at Barboursville.

[DC Deb]

The '08 is a "different" wine.

Is that a bad "different?" After reading your item, I came across a bottle of the '08 at Total Wine. I remembered INcorrectly that you said it was a good year. Did I waste my money?

[Joe H]

No, I have just gone out of my way to look for the '07 since I had such a good experience. The only time I've had the '08 was at the winery but this was a bottle that we drank almost immediately after opening it. Octagon greatly benefits from being opened an hour or more.