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| Sign to Pearmund Cellars |
I went with my mom to visit Pearmund Cellars while I was home over Spring Break. We went on a Wednesday afternoon, so it was very quite and we were the only ones there besides the employees and a regular enjoying a few glasses of wine at the bar. Pearmund Cellars is located in Broad Run, Virginia in Fauquier County. The name of the vineyard is actually Meriwether. This was the name given originally in 1976 when the vineyard was established. Once a vineyard is given a name it cannot be changed. Pearmund Cellars is the name of the producer of the wine. There are 15 acres and 11,000 vines on site that are all chardonnay, since that is the grape that was most suitable to their terrior. There are 187 barrels on site.
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| Cellar Dog/ Welcoming Committee |
Before our tasting, my mom and I enjoyed a nice picnic lunch next to the vineyard and the friendly vineyard dog kept us company while we ate. Then we went inside for our tasting, which cost $10 and consisted of 12 wines. A bowl of oyster crackers was placed out for us to enjoy in between wines if desired.
The first wine was a 2010 Petit Manseng that was 14.1% alcohol with no residual sugar. 2/3 of the grapes were aged in stainless steel tanks and the other third were aged in Acacia barrels. The grapes came from South River Vineyard in Greene County. This wine had a nice golden color and a great fruit smell. IT tasted lik lemon and apples with a hint of spice. It was quite good, with a slight heat and a little bit of bitterness on the sides of my tongue. The cellar recommends pairing it with Thai and other Asian dishes that are not overly spicy.
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| Chardonnay Vines |
Then second wine was a 2010 Old Vine Chardonnay. Since old vines does not have a specific meaning, our server explained that at this cellar it refers to the fact that their Chardonnay vines are 36 years old. They consider anything over 25 years to be "old." This vintage aged 8 months in French Oak and had 13.5% alcohol with no residual sugar. It also went through malolactic fermentation, which is a second fermentation process that tends to give a wine a more buttery, creamy taste. This wine had a lighter color and smell than the first. I detected buttery pear on the nose. The taste was a light olive oil flavor without a lot of heat. I think this wine would go good with seafood, but the cellar suggests chicken dishes or a pasta alfredo. This was not my favorite wine.
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| 2011 Viognier |
The third wine was a 2010 Viognier, the state grape of Virginia, from Vinecroft Vineyard which is also located in Fauquier County. It also underwent the second fermentation that was suppose to help bring out the tropical flavors. I liked this wine better than the second, but not as much as the fist. There was a scent of pineapple, fresh mango and apricot on the nose, but it tasted less sweet than the first wine even though there was 1.5% residual sugar in the Viognier. It had a clean feel in my mouth and more heat and acidity than I expected.
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| 2009 Celebration |
The forth wine was a 2009 Celebration, which is the only wine made with grapes that are not from Virginia. It is a blend of Viognier, Gewurtzminer, and a splash of Chardonnay grapes from Kendall Farms in Walla Walla Valley, Washington State. It had a sweeter, floral smell of citrus and peaches. It tasted like honey and had a thicker texture with some acidity. It was sweet and apricoty with a lingering aftertaste. Interesting, and good at first, but almost too sweet and honey like.
Next we moved onto the red wines. Since we were the only tasters present, one of the employees brought us out a special potential 2011 Ameritage from the barrels that they are thinking of making. He mixed up the various portions of wine into a beaker to get 36% Cabernet Franc, 29% Merlot, 21% Petit Verdot, and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a nice ruby red/ burgundy color. I liked the smell a lot! It had young tannins, blackberry, cherry smell. It tasted of black cherries and blackberries. It tingles on the front of my tongue. The aftertaste was really strong and long lasting. I love the feel of the tannin binding with the proteins in my saliva and the currant flavor. My mom, on the other hand, did not really care for this wine. It really shows the individuality of palates, because almost every wine I like she doesn't really care for, and the ones I don't care for as much, she enjoys.
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| Wine Barrels |
The 2009 Merlot was next on our list. It was aged for 9 months in American Oak and from Silver Creek Orchards in Nelson County, VA with 13.5% alcohol and no residual sugar. This was the lightest of the reds we tried with a berry smell- particularly raspberry and blueberry. It had a bit of a petrol taste and was a little oily, which was not really pleasant. It was slightly tart with a mouth puckering effect at the end and some heat. Not my favorite.
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| 2009 Cabernet Franc |
Next was the 2009 Cabernet Franc from Pan D'Or, Fauquier County. It was aged for 9 months in American Oak and had 13.5% alcohol. This wine won first place at the Virginia State fair. The color was a nice deep burgundy red. It had a petrol smell with some spice and not really any fruit that I could detect. It tasted of tobacco and spice and felt well balanced in my mouth. There was a little heat, but nothing overpowering. After tasting it I could smell tobacco on the nose as well and some dark cherry taste. It had a nice medium body and a peppery finish. This wine had no residual sugar and tasted fairly dry. A good red overall.
After that we tried the 2007 Ameritage that was suppose to be similar to the special wine we tasted, but with a slightly different blend. This blend of classic Bordeaux varietals was comprised of 26% Cabernet Sauvinon, 26% Cabernet Franc, 21% Malbec, 16% Petit Verdot, and 11% Merlot aged fot 12 months in American Oak. There was some sediment in this wine. It had a dry nose with a sinus clearing effect and cherry smell. The taste was more fruity up front with a pepper/tobacco finish. It was fairly soft up front with a slight heat and pow at the end. this was probably my favorite wine of the tasting. Really good.
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| Pearmund Cellars: It's About the Wine. Tasting building. |
The 2009 Ameritage Reserve was next, and it was comprised of equal portions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot. Although reserve has no legal meaning, it refers to the best of the grapes in this case. The color was nice, and the smell was similar to the previous Ameritage, but with more of the spice and dark berry scent. The taste was more even all the way through with spices and dark berry fruit. A little tart and some heat at the end. Good, but I like that 2007 more, because I thought it was more complexed and interesting to drink.
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| 2009 Petit Verdot |
Wine 9 was a 2009 Petit Verdot from 2 principals in Fauquier County aged for 10 months in American and Hungarian Oak. It had a blackberry, oak scent and was dry with a definite blackberry taste up front. It had a more fruity smell and taste than the other red wines. It also had a nice smooth texture. I give it a smile.
Number 10 on the list was a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Crown Orchard in Albermarle County. I have come to love Cab Sauvs, so I was looking forward to this wine and it did not disappoint. The smell was nice and spicy. The taste was similar with the addition of dark berry flavors. It was well balanced with a medium body and a little heat at the end. Slightly tart, overall delicious.
The last two wines were dessert wines. First up was the 2010 Sweet Petite made from petit verdot in stainless steel with in tank oak treatment with 13.5% alcohol and 3% residual sugar. It was served chilled and with a piece of dark chocolate. The wine had a nice deep purple color and was definitely sweet and grape tasting. It was port-like, but not as sweet as port. Our server told us it was a great subsitute for water when making brownies ;)
Last but not least was the 2010 Late Harvest Petit Manseng. It came in at 35 BRIX and was bottled with 6% residual sugar. It aged 9 months in French Oak and had 13.1% alcohol. This wine had a smooth sweet tast with a little bit of acid. Lots of honey flavors- pear and honeysuckle. Yummy.
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| Me next to a Chardonnay Vine |
Overall, our visit to Pearmund Cellars/Meriwether Vineyard was enjoyable. We got to try a lot of delicious wines for a great price. Although there were not any tours offered, the staff were all very friendly and helpful in answering our questions and explaining the background of the wines. They also have two sister wineries, La Grange and Vint Hill Craft Winery, that I look forward to visiting in the future.
