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| The view from the Blue Ridge Parkway |
I needed
some points to help finish my semester-long introduction to wine strong so I
made an impromptu trip to Chateau Morrisette this past Saturday after work. The drive to Morrisette from Blacksburg finishes
on the Blue Ridge Parkway and wow, the vistas there are amazing. Really, I can only imagine how scenic the
drive would be in the Fall with the leaves changing colors. As you drive up to the estate, it’s clear
that the name of the winery fits the grounds and architecture. The buildings have that Continental European look
and the backdrop of the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains makes for a fantastic
setting. There’s a restaurant on site in addition to the production facility
and tasting building.
I just
described my initial impression of the place and I would not have been at all surprised
to find an air of pretentiousness with the staff at the Chateau. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone I came across was extremely friendly
and hospitable. I immediately joined a
tasting conducted by an expert and engaging guide, Roberto. As it turns out, the expertise and ability of
the tasting-guide really makes a difference on your impression of the wines and
the quality of the estate. I had to cut
my tasting short to go on the final scheduled tour of the day.
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| The main winery building |
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Production facility
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Ray, our
tour guide, gave an informative and entertaining tour of the production
facility. In fact, he tells us that the
main building of the Chateau Morrisette is the largest recycled building in the
country. Apparently, the founder of
estate wanted to make his winery as environmentally-friendly as possible and
had virtually all of the parts of the building imported prior to and during
construction—most notably, wood panels from a building near the St. Lawrence
Seaway in Canada. Using my visit to the Barboursville Vineyards last week as a
reference point, Chateau Morrisette’s facilities were very
impressive--particularly the scale of production. In fact, Morrisette’s production facilities have
a 230,000 gallon capacity. Ray also said that Chateau Morrisette was founded
roughly around the same time as Barboursville and many of the other well-known
Virginia wineries. Finished a great tour
and went back to the tasting.
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| Production equipment |
All and
all, there were 11 wines on the day’s tasting list and Roberto threw in two
others that weren’t on the list. Here
are some quick reviews of what I tasted:
2011 Chardonnay:
This wine was fruity on the nose, dry and acidic on the palate, and had
a little spiciness on the finish. I
liked it.
2011 Chambourcin:
This wine was grassy on the nose, crisper than the Chardonnay, and had
low tannins. Again, a pretty good wine.
2011 Pinot Noir:
This wine had cherry on the nose and palate. It really brought back my faith in the
possibilities of Pinot Noir after a bad experience I had with it last month. I like it so much I ended up picking up a
bottle.
2008 Merlot: This wine smelled like a
port. The tannins came through and it
was spicy on the finish. This wine was
just OK.
The Black Dog:
This is apparently the signature wine produced by the Chateau. I actually saw some bottles on this at Kroger
a few hours ago. This is a blended wine
like the Octagon I had last week at the Barboursville Vineyards. Unlike the Octagon, the fruit is upfront and
it has hints of black pepper. This is a
really good wine.
Angel Chardonnay:
This wine had a citrus-y aroma.
On the palate it was smooth, crisp, and sweet.
Our Dog Blue:
This wine was also citrus-y on the nose.
I thought it was really sweet but Roberto suggested that I try to
differentiate between natural fruit sweetness and sugar sweetness, which meant
that this wine was not as sweet as the next couple I was about to taste.
Red Mountain Laurel: On the nose, you had fresh
grape. This was another sweet wine. They
recommended trying this over ice with a slice of orange.
Blackberry Wine: On the nose, you had dark
berries. This wine was sweet and
smooth. It’s made from 100 percent blackberries. They recommend it be served chilled.
Sweet Mountain Apple: Not surprisingly you had fresh
apples on the nose. It was sweet and
crisp.
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| More scenery |
This
visit to Morrisette was a great follow-up to last weekend’s visit to
Barboursville. Even though it’s been
many years since I last visited several Napa Valley wineries, I must say that these
two Virginia wineries compare very favorably to those wineries. If I had to compare the two wineries I
visited during the last two weekends, I’d say there’s more history at the area
immediately surrounding the Barboursville Vineyards but I thought the setting
and vistas at the Morrisette were much more impressive. The quality of the wines that I tasted at the
two wineries were similar—great quality that is. Overall, my visit to Chateau Morrisette was a
great way to spend a beautiful afternoon and I’ll definitely make plans to go
back and dine at the restaurant next time.
Name: Lindeman’s
Bin 90 Moscato
