ESF

9.2

Delicious! Bdx blend w/Chambourcin really adds some personality, very dark opaque ruby w/wild savage nose, forest, herbaceous, medicinal juxtaposed w/dank ripe black/red berry fruit, accented w/vanilla & spice. So Virginia - (could mistake this for Norton) very generous and right in yo face! Smooth rich viscous supple, gobs of fruit w/beautiful harmony & balance on palate. Not for everyone, very extroverted, but for $14 this is insane QPR. — 4 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Founded by McDonald "Don" Blackburn, born in Virginia, studied and worked in Burgundy before returning to America. Production of this wine aimed primarily for the restaurant business, i recently found a bottle on a wine list for half price, wow what a steal. Aromas of sweet berry fruit with spiced notes. The palate shows developed ripe red fruit, oak, spice and mineral notes. Soft tannins, elegantly balanced, vivid acidity, lingering finish ending with mineral notes. Wow! — 5 years ago

Douglas Braun

8.9

Currants , eucalyptus , berry fruit nice balance — 6 years ago

Anne Carman

9.4

Dark fruit, currents, pepper and spice on the nose. Smooth balance of bright berry and dark cherry up front with notes of vanilla and violet around the edges. Beautiful 2008. — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

Notes of mulberry cedar and tomato leaf. Medium + bodied with a hint of Capsicum amongst the restrained berry fruit. A nice balance between savoury and fruit characters all blended into a more restrained style with trademark Margaret River herbaceousness. A long future in front of it. — 7 years ago

Morgan Isern

9.5

Light and delicious red! Gifted from Mamaw and Papaw. — 8 years ago

Bill E

8.9

Nice berry fruit. Soft tannins with an interesting nutty finish. — 9 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.1

Shimmering ruby. Smoke-tinged cherry and dark berry scents, along with cracked pepper and mocha accents. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering lively dark fruit and spicecake flavors that deepen and pick up a spicy nuance on the back half. Rounded tannins build slowly on the long, sappy finish, which leaves behind a hint of bitter cherry. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, July 2021)
— 4 years ago

Fredrik Finn

9.3

Located in Sierra de Gredos, west of Madrid, Bernabeleva is a driving force of the ”new” Spanish wine movement that is getting well-earned attention from the wine world. The Garnachas of Gredos pose with a unique expression, marked with plenty of freshness and ”minerality” due to the high altitude and the granite soils.
The Vina Bonita, Bernabelevas top wine, comes from 2.8 ha single vineyard with 80 year old vines. Fermented in Wood with long maceration, matured on French barriques for ”as long as necessary”. Only 900 bottled produced of the 2016 vintage.

The wine is an act of elegance, a true showstopper concentrated red berry fruit with red florals and a balsamic-herby almost orange like lift, followed by a pronounced earthy and stony minerality.
A fresh acidity and slight lip gripping tannins with a very fine, almost powdery texture, a tactile sensation and strong fatigues drives the mineral, red fruited palate which breach across the palate in a long and expansive finish.
— 5 years ago

Rick Castaneda

8.9

Great berry fruit and acidity. Subtle nuttiness. — 6 years ago

Ron from VA

9.0

Surprisingly good...to the point that it would hard to taste the “Virginia” in this, let alone the ‘Loudoun’! As Pete referenced, this is mostly Tannat (and Doug has a good track record with the Tannic-tempter”). The taste is a mashup of NorCal wild Zin & Petite Sirah w/12.5% Merlot ;) That the brown-bag taste. The “it’s from Virginia“ taste indicators was a flat Cheerwine cola mojo. Dark berry fruit acid grabs you right away...a delicate dance of coffee and briar compote escort a sturdy structure mid-palate off the stage. The Virginia Tannat is woven into the blend such that it isn’t articulate or distinguished. Nevertheless, this was punchy mid week red that had brownbag surprise written all over it! — 6 years ago

Ina Robinson

9.0

Lovely red current wine you can defiantly taste the currents. Not super sweet but delectable perfect for pairing with cheese and fruit — 8 years ago

Thomas Brenner

8.9

This CDR is comprised of 63% Grenache and 37% Syrah. Made from fruit grown in the village of Valreas, where its north+west facing vineyards on the high slopes above the valley floor balance the dark berry flavors with a certain elegance.
The Stiffler's mom of wine, thick, busty but with an alluring finesse. — 8 years ago

Eckhard Garbers

9.3

Fantastic mature fruit bouquet with a hint of Eukalyptus. Superb on the palate, well integrated tannins, more berry fruit and mint, velvety and very balanced. Fantastic wine. — 9 years ago

Rhonely Boy

9.1

9.0-9.1

1 hour decant, Great with a simple steak.
Could lay down for a year (real cork), allowing he woody notes of the tannin to mellow and integrate. Good fruit, black plum and dark berry. Jumped into my basket for under $20.

Funny - - Chile - Carmenere, Argentina - Malbec, Uruguay - Tannat (supposedly US-Virginia too) ... 🤔 — 5 years ago

Simon Roberts

9.0

Can’t remember but it was a high quality and refined Pet Nat... berry fruit, low acidity, dry fruity finish
🥴 need to get another bottle and drink this first and not fourth. — 5 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.5

Mid to dense Ruby. Herbaceous aromas with graphite and black currant. A sweet fluid palate showing black currant of medium plus intensity and partly resolved Tannins. Oak has been absorbed. In a great spot at the moment - excellent balance. Drink remaining 4 bottles in next few years but it is essentially at its peak. A really good wine but from an Aussie point of view tasting more South East than West Australia. Had another bottle 25 weeks later on the 6th October 2020 with consistent notes. The main feature was that it was less herbaceous than it usually is for Margaret River. Showing more ripe berry fruit and cassis in this warmer year. More McLaren Vale in style. Still very good. — 6 years ago

Ryan Gunter

9.3

2014 vintage tasted in 11/2018. Dark purple with a bright crimson rim. Very pleasantly pungent aromas of red cherries, smoke, and pepper, something sweetly herbal like freshly crushed sassafras leaves. As it sits in the glass it reveals a softer, rich, cedar-like aroma. A bouquet of impressive depth and complexity. Vibrant acid from the tart red fruit, tannins are young and generous. Roughly 80% cab sauv, with 20% merlot. Modest 12.5% alcohol but don’t let that fool you. This is concentrated, very fragrant, and explosively tasty wine. World class for sure and a wonderful juxtaposition to the ripeness commonly associated with its west-coast counterparts. This is Virginia first-growth if there is such a thing. — 7 years ago

Al Shikoh

8.9

Moderate ruby in color with aromas of cherry and licorice with hints of violets and cured meat. Wild berry fruit and spice evident on the palate with bright acidity and fine grained tannins notable at the finish. 50/50 blend of organically farmed Grenache and Syrah aged in neutral oak and sourced from the little known Côtes du Vivarais AOC on the west bank of the Rhône. Imported by Kermit Lynch. 13.5% alcohol. $29. — 8 years ago

J.T. Taylor

10

Great as a dessert wine or a mixer with standard bar drinks. — 9 years ago