Mountfair Vineyards: Where Bordeaux-Style Blends Take Center Stage
Hello Friends,This past weekend I hit the Monticello Wine Trail with fellow wine bloggers John & Megan Witherspoon of Anything Wine and Frank Morgan of DrinkWhatULike. The Monticello Wine Trail consists of twenty-four wineries, and this time of year, autumn's colorful brilliance, combined with narrow and twisty country roads and spectacular mountain scenery, makes this one of the most popular wine destinations in Virginia. Our plan was to visit three wineries per day so we could spend some quality time at each talking to the winemakers and staff, tasting their wines, and learning more about their respective operations.
MountFair Vineyards
We were warmly greeted by winemaker Fritz Repich in the tasting room and were eager to talk a little wine, as well as to taste. Talking to Fritz we learned that he is a full-time IT professional who is living out his passion of being a Virginia winemaker. Fritz draws inspiration from both Virginia and California’s popular Paso Robles wine region. It is no secret that Paso Robles is well known for Bordeaux-style blends, and this is where Mountfair really shines in the glass. Mountfair specializes in Bordeaux-style blends - that is all they do. The exceptions on the tasting sheet are two white wines, the Stick Dog Riesling 2008 (very good example) and Virginia Chardonnay 2008 (nice apple, pear, and spice flavors), that are made by well-known Virginia winemaker Brad McCarthy and carried in the tasting room.
Mountfair currently has five acres of red wine Bordeaux varieties under vine and also source fruit from nearby vineyards. One vineyard in particular where fruit is sourced is Mount Juliet in Albemarle, which is an established and sought after fruit source for a number of Virginia producers. After enjoying samples of the two white wines, we moved on to the tasty Bordeaux- style blends. We started off with the Inaugural 2006, a Cabernet Franc-based red wine blend with percentages of Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. This wine is silky smooth with inviting red fruit, spice, cracked pepper and lite toast aromas. The Inaugural was followed by the Composition 2007, my personal favorite, which is a Cabernet Sauvignon based wine with percentages of Merlot and Petit Verdot, offering delicious dark cherry, plum, and spice aromas with a soft tannin structure in a medium-bodied wine. The next wine, the Wooloomooloo 2007 (try saying that fast), is a Petit Verdot-based wine with percentages of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. This wine offers crushed berry fruit (blueberry & blackberry) and earthy aromas and round medium tannins that fill out the palate with a nice lingering finish. The Petit Verdot definitely gives this wine an attractive deep purple color too. Conclusion: Mountfair Vineyards is making some pretty delicious Bordeaux-style blends with depth and complexity - no doubt. Additionally, it is good to see a fairly new winery, unique in personality (Bordeaux red blends only), come out the gates with a number of delicious wines.
Up Close & Personal
In closing, I recommend a scenic drive to Mountfair Vineyards if Mother Nature delivers another sunny autumn weekend. Enjoy the fall foliage, charming country setting, and tasty wines. Tastings are complimentary and the staff is friendly and Mountfair is in close proximity to other wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail. While the tasting room is not currently set up for indoor seating, if the weather is nice you can pack a picnic and sit on the patio that overlooks the pond and vineyard and waste the day away. When you visit Mountfair Vineyards please let Fritz and company know you read about them here on Dezel’s Vine Spot Wine Blog. Happy Sipping!
Stay tuned friends ...more to come!
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7 comments:
Great pics and story Dezel. Looks like a great winery to visit next summer.
Frank
Nice review and photos for a great winery! We have been out there a few times - including a lucky visit for their last release party. What a great group of people to be found out in the middle of nowhere. This is definitely a winery to watch since I am pretty sure their wines are only going to get better and better as time moves forward. Thanks for taking the time to go check them out Dezel!
Frank,
Thanks for the kind words. Don’t wait until summer, autumn is a great time to visit and enjoy the stunning orange, brown, yellow, and red colors of fall.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
StellaStreet,
It is great to see a new winery so into producing quality wines and the proof is in the bottle. You are right, they are a gem smack-dab in the middle of nowhere. They are far away, yet benefit from being near other wineries on the Monticello Wine Trail. I’m thinking about opening a bottle of Composition this weekend, which is my favorite wine in their current lineup. Thanks for the kind words and have a great weekend.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
Hey Dezel, Nice writeup.
Based on your verbal recommendations from tasting their wines at a festival, I took the opportunity to take the LONG SCENIC route while breaking in my motorcycle. It was indeed beautiful and I like the Composition best as well. I didn't get a chance to meet the winemaker but the pourers were extremely gracious and even helped me plan a scenic route home that would meet the needs of not going too fast while breaking in an engine.
So wow! Great scenery, great motorcycle riding, and great WINE! I'll remember that trip for a while.
Mike
Oh Dezel.
One other interesting tidbit; the "horse barn" is actually a kit building. If you look at it closely, all the pieces fit together with essentially no nails or metal fasteners; it's all based on mortise and tenon type joints and has to fit together exactly as the instructions direct. It was fascinating looking at the attention to detail on how the pieces fit together.
Hey Mike,
The drive to Mountfair was beautiful, even though my “evil” GPS took me the (ultra) scenic route. I picked up a bottle of the Composition and Inaugural so will try to hold on to one and share with the gang. I knew there was something about that barn, we just couldn’t put our hands on it – likely because we were busy swirling, sniffing, sipping, and oh yeah, spitting I look forward to returning next spring and sitting outdoors on the patio – should be nice! We all should plan a trip.
Happy Sipping!
Dezel
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