King Family Vineyards (Crozet, Virginia): The wines

After an extensive discussion of King Family Vineyards, James and I turned to tasting the wines. Like many producers in emerging regions, King Family Vineyards has a broad portfolio of wines on offer, categorized as follows: Sparkling, White, Red, Rosé, Mountain Plains, Meritage, and Small Batch Series. We tasted wines from each of these categories.

Matthieu is the Winemaker and has held that position for the last 18 years. According to James, Matthieu has complete autonomy over wine direction and production.

Sparkling

We tasted a 2021 Bland de Blanc, a traditional-method sparkling wine the base of which was fermented in stainless steel tanks. Extended sur lie aging. Yeastiness and mint on the nose. Round on the palate with good fruit and acid levels. Sapid. Long, metallic finish.

White

We next turned to the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc. The fruit for this wine is sourced from Childs Family. Aromatic. A sense of weight on the nose but actually light on the palate. Perfumed on the palate. White fruit. Metallic, drying finish.

The 2023 Viognier was not consistent in the vineyard as regards yield. This variety can be very finicky. The wine was fermented in three separate vessel types and aged in stainless steel, neutral French oak, acacia, and concrete prior to blending and bottling. The varietal mix on the wine is 80% Viognier and 20% Chardonnay. The wine is aromatic, but not in a traditional Viognier way. Heavyweight. Thick and rich with some spiciness.

The 2022 Chardonnay underwent full malolactic fermentation then aging on the lees for 9 months with weekly batonnage. Aging was hosted in French oak barrels (25% new; 25% 1 year; 25% 2 year; and 25% 3 year). Unyielding on the nose initially then pear and baking spice aromas emerged. Barrel influence apparent on the palate.

Mountain Plains is a premium label in the King Family Vineyards stable. The 2022 version is a blend of the top selections from the best barrels of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Petit Manseng. Beeswax and slightly honeyed nose. Weighty on the palate with ripe fruit and spice, the latter increasing in intensity with residence in the glass. Full-bodied. Juicy. Cupric.

Petit Manseng is the latest variety to wear the mantle of Great Virginia Hope and King Family Vineyards has an offering in this space. The 2023 Petit Manseng shows sweet white fruit on the nose and palate. Rich and creamy initially, giving way to a dry, mineral palate.

Rosés

Crosé is a dry, Merlot-based Rosé whose moniker is a play on the name -- Crozet -- of the small town in which the estate is located. The color of this wine is the result of limited skin contact. The 2024 exhibited sweet strawberry on the nose and palate. Discordant palate.

The 2023 Mountain Plains Rosé is made from early-picked Petit Verdot. Skin contact evident. Underripe fruit. Varietal weightiness.

Reds

The Cabernet Franc 2023 was aged for 9 months in a combination of concrete and French oak. Violets and hints of bell pepper on the nose. Firm on the attack  but mid-palate issues. Rose petals and spice on the palate along with a slight sweetness. Medium weight with a medium-length finish. 

The Les Petits 2022 is a blend of Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng (the Petits; get it?) and was one of the estate's Small Batch offerings. Mint and red and blue fruit on the nose, along with a waxy pungency. This wine fully engages the palate. Spicy red fruit and bell pepper flavors. Pleasant.

The 2022 Merlot was aged for 16 months in neutral and new French oak barrels. Elegant on the nose  with aromas of baking spices, chocolate, tobacco, and coal. Unfocused ripe dark fruit on the palate. Rich chocolate and spice. Persistent.

The Meritage is the estate's "flagship Bordeaux-style red blend," constructed, as it is, with an eye towards extended bottle aging. The components are Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. I tasted the 2022 and 2021 vintages.

The 2022 exhibited thick, rich, ripe dark fruit along with chocolate and spice. Persistent and mineral. The 2021 showed violets, spice, chocolate, and a green note on the nose. Red fruit on the palate and a little thin on the finish. More elegance exhibited here than in the 2022.

Grapes for the 2022 Mountain Plains Red were hand selected and destemmed before a 4- to 8-week maceration in open-top concrete fermentation tanks. After pressing, the wines were aged for 22 months in new French oak barrels. Red and black fruits and violets on the nose. Ripe fruit on the palate. Structured. 

The 2022 Petit Verdot was aged for 21 months in French oak barrels. Intense violet notes on the nose. Lands beautifully on the palate. Rich, with a lengthy finish.

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Matthieu was out of the country when I visited the estate so i did not have an opportunity to gain his insights into his winemaking philosophy, practices, and plans for the future. I hope to address this shortcoming in the not-too-distant future.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

King Family Vineyards: The founding and vineyard characteristics of a Virginia Wine stalwart

King Family Vineyards is a stalwart of the Virginia Wine industry, one which, unfortunately, I have not previously had the opportunity to engage with in a meaningful way.That problem was rectified when Frank Morgan (Mr. VA Wine) arranged for me to sit with James King to discuss the winery and its wines. 

David and Ellen King (James' parents) moved from Houston, Texas to Charlottesville (VA) in 1995 and purchased a 327-acre farm therein. David was a Polo lover and while that was one of the driving forces behind the purchase of the property, the farm also grew alfalfa and corn.

In the Fall of 1997, one Tom Vandenberg knocked on the farmhouse door and asked to lease 10 acres of the property for the purpose of growing wine grapes. In the course of the discussion he indicated that the property appeared well-suited to that purpose. David's interest was piqued so he read a few books and then engaged a vineyard consultant. Six months later they planted 8 acres of vines.

The initial thought was to sell the fruit but they decided to hold some back for wine production. They made 480 cases in 2000 and 1050 cases in 2001. Michael Shaps (Shaps Wineworks)  was the winemaker and the wine was made in space leased from Afton. They were so pleased with the wine that they decided to build a production facility onsite. The winery was brought online in October of 2002. Michael continued in the winemaker role until he was succeeded in 2006 by Matthieu Finot.

The winery built in 2002 had a 5000-bottle capacity. A new facility with 28,000-bottle capacity was brought on line in 2013.

Let us take a step back and examine the physical environment in which the estate operates. 

Physical Environment

First, the farm has expanded from the original 324 acres to 430 acres with the acquisition of the property across the street. The area under vine has also seen an increase: from 8 acres to 55 acres currently. All of the King Family Vineyards land falls within the bounds of the Monticello AVA.

The climate is hot, wet, and humid with potential for frost in the spring (The area is frost-free in May.). Frost-mitigation/prevention techniques utilized by the estate include wind machines  and flying helicopters over the vineyard to push warm air downward.

The area is experiencing greater frequency of drought with the onset of climate change; two within the past decade.

Sols are dyke-loam with a "thin surface layer of granular loam (composed of sand, silt, and clay) covering a deep bed of dense, iron-rich clay ... these soils encourage downward root growth and retain enough water to avoid the need for irrigation in all but the driest of years."

Built Environment

The 55 acres of the farm under vine is distributed between Merlot, Viognier, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Petit Manseng and Malbec varieties. The distribution of the varieties across the estate's five vineyards are illustrated in the charts below; as are the planting dates, rootstock, clonal selection, and vine-training methods.

Farming Practices

The vineyards are farmed traditionally but sustainability is a key focus of the enterprise. Cover crops, for example, are employed to both promote competition and to aid in the improvement of soil health. Working with the Army Corps of Engineers, the estate has restored the wetlands habitat on the farm, establishing the area as a "bird-watching hotspot." All activities on the farm are done by hand.

The farm is subject to the presence of insects, pests, and diseases and sprays about 24 times per year to combat same.

When necessary, irrigation needs are met from a 7-acre farm pond.

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I will discuss the tasting of the King Family Vineyard wines in a subsequent post.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

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.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme