Shadow Springs Vineyard

Wine: Winery: Ambiance: Sep 01, 2011

Favorite Wine: Cabernet Franc

Over ten acres of grapes were planted in 2005, but already some remarkable wine examples are coming from this new well placed setting. Though the tasting schedule is set at 7 wines for $5 and 14 wines for $9 (with Riedel tasting options), I opted to try only their ’08 Cabernet Franc (soft and easy), ’08 Chambourcin (fun, but thin), ’07 Meritage (Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Merlot, and Petit Verdot), ’07 Reserve Cab Sauv (drying effect on the tongue) and Crimson Sunset (a pleasant 60% Merlot/40% Cab Franc blend). The best way to describe the offerings at this time from this new venture is that all the red wines tasted were good, but none were destinctive. The wines benefited from not tasting “earthy” and typically “Southern”. Curiosity note, ~ have you ever been to a winery where they add tax to your tasting fee? For those who enjoy white wines, their 2010 Viognier took a gold medal recently at the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Southeastern Wine Competition.