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Wine Recommendation
Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery
2005 Chambourcin, Estate(Monticello)
The French hybrid Chambourcin is grown in many regions east of the Rockies. It is a variety that reliably withstands cold winters, is disease-resistant and can handle the humidity of the mid-Atlantic growing regions. Often it produces a rather tart wine—too tart for pleasurable drinking much of the time—but with a sound warm even-ripening vintage like the 2005 in Virginia, it can be surprisingly tasty.
Oakencroft Vineyard’s 2005 Chambourcin is just such a wine, one of the richest Chambourcins I’ve tasted. It shows what this variety can do under close to ideal conditions, producing a dark, flavorful solid red that can work nicely with lamb or other roast meats. This is a style to aim for with this variety, which is so useful and versatile (including as a blending component) in the mid-Atlantic region. I hope we see more.
Reviewed April 30, 2007 by Barbara Ensrud.
Other reviewed wines from Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery
The Wine
Winery: Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery |
The Reviewer
Barbara Ensrud
Barbara Ensrud has been writing about and reviewing wines since 1979, with a nationally syndicated column for the New York Daily News and numerous other publications. Her “no numbers” approach to evaluating wine is simple: how does it taste – on its own, as well as with particular foods? Is it good value, whether $10 or $210? Does it measure up in terms of varietal character and regional identity? …"When I taste a good wine, I can't wait to share it with fellow wine lovers." |