Boxwood Winery Holds Rare Bordeaux Blending Seminar
It’s isn’t easy for a Virginia winery to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of the best from Bordeaux, the world’s largest fine wine region, but that’s exactly what Boxwood Winery does every day. If anyone can put Virginia wines on the global map, it’s Boxwood. Their dedication to quality, taste, and refinement is evident with every sip.
This past weekend, ten guests spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the pristine stone and glass winery just outside Middleburg. Set among rolling green hillsides and surrounded by undulating horse country and enormous farm estates, Boxwood is the picture of style and elegance. When you first approach the winery you are greeted by a huge, plumed, centuries old oak tree. Just beyond the stone wall and gate are 16 acres of uniform rows of now dormant vines standing at attention like gnarled, silent sentinels.
Once you enter the Tasting Room you realize why Boxwood is a standout in Virginia. Every step in the creation of the winery has been taken with an eye to unrivaled quality. Not one detail has been missed, from the handmade comet standard atop the winery’s roof, to the signature glass cupolas, and the stone façade, fences, tasting room, and Cave.
John Kent Cooke, who founded the estate with his family, enlisted the services of award-winning architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen to design the winery, and the stunning buildings are a study in respect for tradition and its seamless integration with a modern, minimalist aesthetic. Watch a video of John Kent Cooke as he guides you through a tour of the winery.
The light filled tasting room is warm and cheery as the sun’s rays bounce off the windows and stone walls and floors. With its vaulted ceiling and high-pitched roof, the tasting room has the air of a small country chapel. Greeting guests when they arrived were Executive Vice President Rachel E. Martin and Marketing Manager Cat Coughlin, hosts for the day.
Rachel is Boxwood’s world ambassador and her relaxed and inviting presence immediately put guests as ease. After introductions, she guided on a tour of the Chai (pronounced Shay), or fermentation room and its tall, stainless steel vats while relaying the story of the winery and its history. In preparation for the blending seminar, the tour then moved to the Cave or cellar where the wine is aged in barrels. Rachel collected barrel samples of single varietal wines that would be used for the blending from the 2011 vintage, which was a difficult year. The samples included four of the five traditional grapes used to make wine in Bordeaux, only Malbec was excluded.
Boxwood produces only red wines and all three wines, Boxwood, Topiary, and the Rosé, are blends that include combinations of some or all of the five traditional varietals used in Bordeaux: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Merlot. After the Chai visit, guests returned to the Tasting Room, and, for just a while, became wine makers.
Marking each place was a pipette, note pad, glasses containing samples, and final blending glass. Soon, each guest was smelling, tasting, and making note of each wine’s aromatic qualities and flavors and developing their signature blend. As the final blend was discussed, adjusted, and tasted again, guests developed a new-found respect for the art of blending and got a glimpse into one of winemaking’s more mysterious aspects.
Once the final blending recipe was chosen, a fantastic lunch, paired with Boxwood 2010, Topiary 2010, and the 2011 vintage of Topiary Rosé were served. The menu was prepared by Aryrshire Farm, a local humane, organic farm and food specialty company. They served an exquisite, mouth-watering Coq au Vin Blanc braised with bacon, mushrooms, pearl onions, and carrots that was imbued with hints of smoky bacon and meaty, savory chicken and tart fruit from the white wine.
Roasted sweet potatoes and sautéed Brussels sprouts were a feast of flavors that included hints of sugar cane, creamy butter, and the tang of green leaves. The salad was a fantastic blend of frisée lettuce and red oak leaf tossed with pecans and pomegranate seeds and a lively garlic-infused red wine vinaigrette. For dessert, a banana and pastry cream parfait included homemade vanilla cookies and was a marriage of tropical fruit and floral notes.
The balanced fruit and acidity and restrained tannins in each wine were a marriage made in heaven with the winter menu. During lunch Rachel stressed her goal is,”…to show world-class wines can be made in Virginia that can compete with Bordeaux, or any other region.” If there had been any doubt before, this unique experience confirmed what thousands already know. Just taste Boxwood’s wines and you will become a devoted fan.
Photo Credit: Summer Whitford
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