RdV Vineyards: The crafting of a Virginia cult wine?

At a comparative tasting of 2006 Chateau Mouton, RdV Vineyards 2008, and Dominus 2007, Rutger de Vink, owner of RdV, stated "I hate to use the word 'cult' wine, but we are trying to take the wine to the next level." And this was the estate that Frank Morgan (drinkwhatyoulike.com) and I would be visiting this afternoon on our abbreviated tour of Virginia vineyards. The location of the estate is shown on the map following the picture below.

RdV location indicated on map by red marker

RdV is the brainchild of Rutger de Vink who set out to create a Virginia wine that could compete with the best wines of the world, built on the characteristics illustrated in the figure below. I will discuss each of the characteristics in turn.

Vision and Leadership
The foundational element in this "drive to cult" is Rutger de Vink. Much ink has been spilled on his history, movie-caliber good looks, etc., but I stay away from Hollywood-type themes on this blog. The things that I find fascinating are:

1. His apprenticeship with Jim Law (Linden Vineyards) which gave him a solid grounding in the site and viticultural requirements for the production of high-quality wines;
2. His travel to, and work in, Napa and Bordeaux to further expand his horizon;
3. His search for, and selection of a very attractive grape-growing site in Delaplane, VA;
4. His focus on a limited number of varieties;
5. His focus on the type of wine that he wanted to make and the market niche that he wanted his wine to occupy;
6. His pursuit and construction of a high-impact team that would contribute to both the realization and sale of the vision.

Location Characteristics
Based on his time at Linden Vineyards, Rutger came to understand the importance of soil composition, texture, and drainage capability in final wine quality and set out to find a plot that optimized those characteristics. He eventually settled on a 100-acre site on a steep, stony hillside in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The site, located within the borders of Delaplane, has a mix of gravel and rich, red clay soil in the topmost layer and granite in the subsoil.

The first figure below shows a core that has been drilled on the RdV property. The topmost soil layer is at the top of the leftmost tube while the extent of the core is at the bottom of the rightmost cylinder. The granite subsurface is more clearly illustrated in one section of the underground cellar (second picture following) which has been left exposed for observational purposes.

RdV soil core

Sixteen acres of the property were cleared for planting of the vineyards and were further segmented into the 11 plots shown in the figure below.

Viticulture
The built environment, human resources, and cultural practices are three critical legs of the the RdV viticultural stool. In terms of the built environment, RdV opted to plant Cabernet Sauvignon (40%) Cabernet Franc (40%), Merlot (12%), and Petit Verdot (8%) in its vineyard plots. The 30,000 vines planted were secured from a nursery in California and already had 2 years of growth under their belts at the time of planting in 2006. These vines were planted in a high-density format with grass between the rows to aid in moisture capture and retention.

RdV has assembled a formidable viticultural team to ensure the growth of the highest possible quality grapes in the vineyard. The Consulting Viticulturist is Jean-Philippe Roby, a Professor at Bordeaux Agro Sciences and ISVV Bordeaux University, a leading proponent of the concept of terroir, and an internationally renowned consultant in the field. Day-to-day management of the vineyard is the responsibility of of the estate's first employee, Gabriel Flores.

The estate vineyard management practices is based on sustainable viticulture.

World-Class Blending
If you are making Bordeaux-style wines, it makes sense to utilize the services of a Bordeaux-based consulting enologist to direct the blending. If, however, you want to make one of the best Bordeaux-style wines in the world, then it absolutely makes sense to utilize the services of one of the top Bordeaux enologists. And that is what RdV has done in securing the services of Eric Boissenet, blender of wines for four of the five Bordeaux First Growths. RdV is the only US-based client in the Boissenet portfolio.

The Wines
The estate's signature wine is called Lost Mountain and its 2014 blend was 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, and 12% Merlot. The second label is called Rendezvous and its 2014 blend was 42% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot. For those steeped in the wines of Bordeaux, one can see a Left Bank - Right Bank divergence of these two wines.

Both of these wines are fermented in stainless steel and aged for 2 years in 100% New French oak (Troncais and Allier, medium toast). The wines are racked every 6 months during barrel aging. Wines are fined with egg whites before bottling and spend another year aging in bottle.

We tasted the 2012 and 2013 Rendezvous and the 2013 Lost Mountain. The 2013 Rendezvous showed smoke, red fruit, and baking spices on the nose. Red fruit and dark chocolate and elegance on the palate. The 2012 Rendezvous had the 2012 characteristics plus cigar, leather, licorice, and tar. Sweeter fruit and concentrated but not as focused. Great acid levels. Great finish.

The 2013 Lost Mountain showed mahogany and baking spices with a hint of castor oil. Concentrated but not as focused as I would have liked. Creamy, fudge, chocolate on the palate. A little bit of a hole in the mid palate.

Of the two labels that I tasted that day, my preference was for the Lost Mountain.

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