This was written in the course of the year, so the ones tasted first were listed first. The scoring system is at the bottom of the entry; wines are not listed in order of score.
***+ Philip Carter Winery “Cleve” 2019
This wine is the estate flagship red, a blend of 50/50 Petit Verdot and Tannat. I opened this wine last January as the first snow of the season was falling. You might expect that to be pretty intense, but at five years, this wine was wonderfully elegant yet full of flavor, kind of a cross between an Old Vine Zinfandel and a southern Rhone blend, only with more acidity, less alcohol and perfectly balanced. Nose: ripe red and black fruits, black pepper and clove. Palate: more red and black fruit flavors, but moderate (13%) alcohol, fresh acidity, and smooth, ripe tannins in the background, with no obvious oak.
It’s rare to have a blend of two hefty grape varieties dance so gracefully across the palate, but hats off to the winemaking team, and let’s hope we see more of these kinds of wines (in this style) to get us through these gray, cold winter nights. This wine is currently sold out at the winery, and is only made in the best vintages and in small quantities for sale at the winery and to club members; the next available vintage (if you don’t already have one) will be the 2024, which is still a couple of years away, but worth making a mental note of.
*****Miles Wine Cellars 2011 Riesling, Finger Lakes AVA, NY
This is one of only three or so Five Star Ratings I’ve ever given. The 2011 vintage was cool, wet, tight, and lean, yielding Rieslings that smelled of wet slate and Granny Smith apples, and had acidity that was like someone had slapped you in the face. But, if you could get past the (apparent) palate shock, you could see that this vintage had the stuff to last the long haul.
Miles Cellars is on west Seneca Lake, on a point that juts out into the lake, increasing the benefit of its warming effect during the growing season. In a tough, lean vintage, this really helps give the wines extra days of ripening and sugar accumulation. This bottle was a semi-dry/sweet version, 12% ABV, likely harvested later than their dry version.
Color: brilliant gold, still vibrantly glowing. Nose: Like a Granny Smith and Pink Lady apple pie made with no added sugar, with hints of smoke and slate. Palate: firm acidity, but on the mid-palate, flavors of ripe nectarines mingle with those of the apples, and a rich ripe full texture, long finish with crisp acidity.
After three days being open (and pumped with a vacu-vin): some petrol notes on the nose, but on the palate, ripe, red apple and nectarine and peach fruit is rich and ripe, with electric, zesty acidity perfectly balancing the ripe, juicy fruit.
An extra star earned for the terroir role of Miles’ location on a point in mid-Seneca Lake, which mitigated the high acidity of this vintage and allowed the extra ripening time to deliver a perfect example of fine acidity and rich, ripe fruit that even at 14 years, has the stuffing to last another few years.
***Jake Busching “Chenquisition” 2023, Monticello, VA
Nobody expected the “Chenquisition”…this is a Chenin Blanc wine, grapes grown near Keswick, with a very subtle, Loire Valley-like style. Nose: subtle with a hint of yellow plum. Palate: high acidity, with a classic texture of “wet wool”. Complex, just opening, layered, not obviously fruity, worth watching it evolve.
***>*Southwest Mountains Vineyards Viognier 2023, Monticello, VA
On the nose, this Viognier is very subtle, with a hint of white flowers. Palate: rich, round, full-bodied yet elegant and balanced with lees adding complexity to both texture and flavor. Ripe varietal flavors of apricot, peach, honeysuckle and papaya! Layers of texture and flavor; great style and finesse! This Viognier will actually improve with some age.
***>*Southwest Mountains Vineyards Merlot 2023, Monticello, VA
Nose: subtle, elegant black fruits, reminiscent of St. Emilion. Palate: chewy black fruits, firm but ripe tannins, smooth, juicy. Stylish now, but one to watch evolve.
****Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery Old Vines Pinot Noir 2020 Finger Lakes, NY
There are two vineyards supplying fruit for this impressive Pinot Noir. The Keuka Lake (estate) vineyard was first planted in 1958 with clones 7 and 13; these are the second oldest Pinot Noir vines in the country. The other vineyard is on southeast Seneca Lake (the “banana belt” of the Finger Lakes). The 2020 vintage was a “10” on a scale of 1-10, and this wine shows quality and varietal character without losing elegance and finesse.
Nose: maturing, but still lively; a complex but subtle blend of truffle, dried cherries, forest floor and a hint of white pepper and cardamom. Palate: rich and luscious, with balancing acidity not as prominent as in less ripe vintages. Fully ripe red fruits and tannins, well-integrated on the palate, harmonious and a classic style. One of the best American examples of cool climate Pinot Noir I’ve tasted; long, clear, complex aftertaste. Alc. 13%
****Linden Vineyards Hardscrabble 2017 (57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot) had a nose of roasted, ripe black fruits with fresh mineral hints, and dense, ripe black fruit with well-balanced acidity on the palate.
****+ Linden Vineyards Hardscrabble 2010 (85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot) showed sweetly ripe, mature cassis on the nose, with chewy, ripe black fruits and smooth tannins, and dark chocolate hints with velvet tannins on the finish; an homage to the classic Left Bank Bordeaux style.
****Linden Vineyards Avenius Red 2019 (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot)
Nose: classic ripe black fruits w. the spice of Petit Verdot. Still young but with great potential. Palate: smooth but with a fine mineral acidity, ripe and smooth texture. After 7 or so minutes in the glass, it starts to show vintage character of the elegant 2019 growing season.
****Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc 2023, Indian Springs Vineyard (Shenandoah Valley)
Very dark, opaque color, unusual for this variety. Nose: freshly baked blackberry cobbler! Ripe, heady, juicy! Palate: AMAZING fruit-driven ripe blackberry, ripe and smooth tannins, fruit explosion but with pure varietal expression (not oaky); rich and large, and could blow a Petit Verdot away!
***>*Barboursville Vineyards Vermentino 2023, VA
Barboursville has been placing their Vermentino in the Governor’s Case a few times in the last few years, and so it’s gratifying to see that in 2025, it not only placed in the Case, but actually won the Cup itself, a remarkable feat for any white wine competing against so many fine red wines in Virginia. The 2023 vintage shows both concentration and nervy acidity, with complex Meyer lemon and herbal notes, a layered texture, plump mid-palate, but fresh lively finish that lingers.
***+Veritas Vineyards Viognier 2023, Monticello, VA
Winemaker Emily Hodson makes uniformly high-quality wines, but in the whites, I like her Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc the most. This Viognier is elegant and pretty on the nose, with ripe apricots and a hint of honeysuckle, but poised. On the palate, there’s fresh apricot and a hint of tropical fruit, with some depth from lees, but always the fruit stays forefront, with a fresh finish. A delightfully clean and fresh style now, but under Stelvin cap, will also hold for another couple of years.
***Loving Cup Red 2019, Monticello (organic, Marquette)
Color: dark but translucent. Nose: subtle red and black fruits, hint of spice. Palate: mature, mellow and round, with a crisp fresh finish. Tastes like a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Franc; intriguing and well-knit, with a nice hint of spiciness and vanilla on the finish. Pretty complex for a red hybrid.
***+Boundary Breaks “Old Line North” Medium Dry Riesling, 2023, Finger Lakes, NY
Made from a mix of clones, this wine shows brightly vivid and fresh varietal character despite a difficult vintage. Ripe red apple and white peach on the nose are followed by a tense ballet of like flavors on the palate with taut acidity, but a pleasing viscosity on the palate gives weight and balance, while fine fresh acidity lingers on the finish. In Virginia, available at Wegmans. This will also age a few years.
***Arterra Tannat 2022
Color: inky purple and opaque. Nose: fresh raspberries and pomegranate. Palate: concentrated and pure varietal flavor of ripe berries and fresh earth. Fresh and concentrated but fruity ripe raspberry then tannic and taut; like a flamenco dancer with a rose in her teeth as her black leather-clad partner taps out the tempo with the heels of his boots. Winemaker Jason Murray (above) only uses neutral oak, even with a large, tannic grape like Tannat, since he doesn’t want anything to mar the expression of the grape and the vineyard in the glass.
****Mount Alto “Manteo-Nason-Tatum” 2019
Partners Robert Burgholzer and David Ackkio are disciples of Jim Law, and selected the site for their vineyard (in far western Albemarle Co. on Mount Alto) based on the water drainage ability of the soil types. Accordingly, this blend of 55% Petit Verdot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon is named after the soils of their two vineyard sites on Mount Alto.
2019 was a marvelous vintage in Virginia for red wines, with bright, forward red fruits, but with elegance and finesse, reminiscent of how the legendary 1982 Bordeaux vintage was described as being youthful, but also having the ability to age.
I drew a sample from my Coravin on New Year’s Eve, and my first impression reminded me of both Ankida Ridge Pinot Noir, and Finger Lakes Riesling. You might think that odd for a Petit Verdot/Cabernet blend, but the intensity of vibrant, fresh fruit was the common denominator. Here, it was bright red fruits; the cassis of the Cabernet, and the black raspberry of the Petit Verdot, along with its lavender and violet scent. On the palate, it continued fresh and vibrant, concentrated fresh red fruits, smooth tannins, and vivid acidity, all integrated gracefully without any obvious oak intrusion. At six years old, this wine is just hitting its stride now, and will continue if well-cellared for another decade.
****>*DuCard Reserve Cabernet Franc 2023
This wine not only won a gold medal in the Governor’s Cup, but placed in the Governor’s Case (top 12 wines of the competition that year). Nose: like young Shiraz, or Petit Verdot without oak, pure inky concentrated ripe black fruit. Can you smell ripe tannins?? Palate: intense, black hole of very ripe but not hot black fruits, more like Shiraz or even Cabernet Sauvignon; all fruit-driven, can’t taste any oak.
Intense, yet elegant: blackberry and ripe smooth tannins with chocolate notes on the finish. Brilliant!
(Rating key: * = good, ** = very good, *** = classic style and quality, **** = exceptional, outstanding, + = given rating plus, > = will increase in quality with time. Note: I won’t give wine recommendations when I consult for a winery.)