Taken from the deck at Delaplane Cellars in mid-September, we imagine that the world is turning autumn colors far as the eye can see at this point. Note the three distant peaks in the upper left, reproduced on the wine label in the bottom right.
Earlier this week we included Delaplane Cellars in our list of current Northern Virginia (and surrounding) wine, dine, and travel favorites. It's been six months since we last wrote about Delaplane, and they've got a nearly entirely new lineup of wines and vintages pouring at the winery right now. We thought we'd check in with some tasting notes and encouragement for you to pay them a visit. Try the Ashby Inn and Restaurant, minutes away, while you're out there.
2015 Traminette
Nose is balanced between distinct floral notes and a candied brown sugar. The Traminette is definitely feeling less sweet over time. We found its apricot and rose petal notes to be reminiscent of the Blue Eyes fruit tea blend we get from the Atlantic Spice Company.
2015 Viognier
A bit locked up and alcoholic when first opened, we found that great banana and tropical fruit emerge from this Viognier after a few hours of open bottle time. It's more floral when the cork is first popped, and grows fruitier as time goes on. Delaplane also produced a Viognier Reserve in 2015, which we tasted straight from the barrel back in April. Bottled in late April, the limited-quantity reserve was nice and bright, giving us honey suckle and orange blossom on the nose, with delicate citrus on the palate, and a slightly tart finish. It paired quite nicely with a preserved lemon and goat cheese crostini with grape marmalade.
2015 Mélange Blanc
The 2015 edition of this perennial mainstay in the Delaplane lineup is 50% Vidal Blanc, 20% Albariño (surprise!), with the rest filled out by Viognier and Petit Manseng. You'll be surprised by the butter popcorn elements in the nose. The Albariño adds nice creaminess to the sweet qualities introduced by the Vidal Blanc and the Petit Manseng. The finish is fuller than we expected.
2014 Cinq 5
The first red of the bunch, the name Cinq 5 warrants a little explanation. Cinq ("five" in French) commemorates the blend's makeup of five French varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah. The 5 indicates that 2014 is the fifth year in which Cinq has been produced (the last vintage was called Cinq 4... technically making the 2015 edition... Cinq Cinq?) I digress. Dark raspberry in the nose carries through the palate. Number five seems less tannic than past vintages of the same. We think this is a really nice edition of this particular vertical.
2014 Mélange Rouge
Swirl this one in the glass, and then watch it drip slowly down from the top. Winos refer to that visual as "legs". Very earthy nose gives us currants, tobacco, and earth before finishing cherry. It's nice and sophisticated, with a smooth finish. There are no painful tannins here. Oh, there's great mushroom, too.
2014 Piedmont Station
The 2014 is still very young. Buy a bottle and let is age in your collection for a few years before drinking. None of this should surprise you given that Piedmont Station is 68% Cabernet Sauvignon rounded out by 18% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc. Good Cabs need time to mellow out with age. Dark cherry comes out in the nose, and there's already some smooth chocolate developing on the palate. This will be a big bold red in good time as the tannins mellow out.