TN: 2007 Virage Vineyards (USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros)

• 2007 Virage Vineyards - USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (12/17/2010)
  Simply put: What a beautiful wine. Pop and pour. This has pretty hue of purple tinged crimson. The nose showed some bing cherries, red raspberries and red plums. A multi-layered joy to behold that just kept giving, this was bright and lively on the palate. There was zero of the negative stuff CF can have. Perfectly balanced and lilty with a purity and focus that tip toes over bind-boggling, this was a lite to mid-weight wine initially but after about an hour this gained some weight as well as some black fruits of currants and black plum. A luscious and plush CF blend that has structure, breed and elegance. It crescendos into a long opulent finish. Fantastic. (94 pts.)

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Possibly the best CF blend I have sampled to date. Get on this list and buy this wine. $45 and well worth the tariff.

I also have a recent note: TN: 2007 Virage Vineyards (USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros) - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers.

Really excellent wine. Definitely like the balance point it hits–still has earthy and savory nuances, and doesn’t head into pruney or blueberry reduction territory. Superb stuff.

Seems as if Carneros is a perfect match for Cab franc. Some of the best examples of west coast CF have been from there. Micheal Havens made some beautiful examples that i cut my teeth on, years ago.

A delightful wine that brought out the contemplative in me. This wine manages the neat trick of being both inviting and complex. Finesse and grace; refreshing and renewing.

Aaron Pott was the winemaker from 2007-2009. Matt Taylor is now the winemaker.

Ray

This Virage is being poured at Falltacular, FWIW. Hey if King Cab likes it, bring it on.

Yeah this wine is outrageously good. We drank a bottle with Emily at Press while on our Napa trip last month and brought home a few bottles. It was so complex and elegant. We all loved it! $45 makes it even sweeter. I’m a little concerned about hyping it too much since I would hate to see the price raised, but it is a screaming value.

John, interesting that you bring up Havens, that was her inspiration for this wine and some of the grapes come from their vineyard. She also sources some from Hyde. Emily is a member here, I will email her to see if she will join the thread.

Mike, your note is spot on!

Don’t worry guys, I know this is a great value. I may have to nudge up just a few dollars on the next vintage but I’m not thinking about more than $48 and hopefully won’t even have to do that… There were a few winemaking surprises with 2008 and 2010, not budgeted in “the plan.” But it is very much part of my mission to bring great wine at an accessible price to folks who really drink it and enjoy it (compared to saving for that prize bottle to put on the shelf). It’s my pleasure to taste the wine over time and enjoy how it evolves, so I entice you to do the same. Our journey with this 2007 is just begun. Join the list, buy by the case, and we all win

Selling direct to you is what makes all the difference, and your sharing the word here makes my pricing possible without having to invest in expensive marketing.

I think King Cab wrote the best description yet of the wine. Thanks for all of your kind words.

Cheers!
Emily

Great wine, Emily.
I am glad Ray O turned me onto it.
It will be interesting seeing where this one goes with some bottle age on it, but it’s so delish now. (and I never use the term ‘delish’, just ask my friends.).
Well done!
I can’t wait until my friend Frank Murray III gets some in his glass and gives us his impression.

Who’s coming to the Falltacular event? I’ll be there, thanks to Paul Hiyake! I hope I survive it

Emily

I’ve had the pleasure of tasting this wine with Emily on two separate occasions now, and both times the wine was simply wonderful. I’ve been meaning to post tasting notes from these tastings (which were impromptu blind tastings of the '07 Virage vs. various right bank bordeaux’s), but suffice it to say that the Virage was the winner at both tastings, showing great balance, pure black fruit, and a rich finish that went on forever. Thanks to Greg D. for posting the original tasting note that turned me on to this wine!

As far as the wine goes, everyone has pretty much covered it… structured, bright, delicious. I got a chance to meet Emily this past summer and she took me for a walk through the Carneros vineyard where the fruit comes from. She absolutely oozes passion for the project, which makes the wine even easier to get behind. A true lover of wine and the industry as a whole! Kudos, Emily

Hey March 2011 wine Enthusiast, where’s the Franc?

92 pts - Virage 2007 Red Wine (Napa Valley)
This first release from the winery is a fine Bordeaux blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon. It shows all the hallmarks…yadda yadda yadda, just no CF mention? (71% Cab Franc, 24% Merlot, 5% Cab Sauvignon)

…an elegant balanced wine that should develop over the next 5-7 years. At least they got that right.

I sense a correction is due next month.

Can you believe it? There will be a correction and a re-run in April issue. I suggested to Steve Heimoff this automatic brain-link of Cabernet-to-Sauvignon would be a great basis for a story on the emergence of outstanding right-bank blends from the new world–like Virage. Folks who grow what works best in the vineyard, and blend according to the vintage (um, like Bordeaux). Seriously, even the pros at WE apparently thought Cabernet Franc was a typo to be corrected!

I just tasted this last week with Emily. Really good stuff.

• 2010 Virage Vineyards Rosé - USA, California, Napa Valley (1/15/2012)
  Falltacular 2012 (FMIII in the OC): Big league rose. Haven’t had much that was Cab Franc based but this is an terrific wine for the price. Candied nose, floral hints. Sweet red fruit with a suprising long finish for a rose in my experience. (90 pts.)
• 2007 Virage Vineyards - USA, California, Napa Valley (1/22/2011)
  Falltacular 2011 (FMIII in the OC): Wow, is this an awesome wine. I had a taste 15 seconds after the bottle was opened (with the owner, thank you) and the wine was excellent, a couple hours and you’re telling me it’ll be better? Yikes, good juice. Very interesting complexity with pencil shaving weaving in and out through the palate and finish. Great mouthfeel. (93 pts.)

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