2005 Boisseau Red
Palate
Rich and ripe, flavors of dark chocolate ending with a cherry finish.
Aromas
Wild blackberry, black currant, fresh herbs, anise & smoke.
Food Pairings
Grilled red meats always work well with Boisseau Red as do simple bistro dishes such as Cassoulet and duck confit.
Vineyard
The eponymous Boisseau Vineyard is located on a bluff above Front Royal in the Shenandoah Valley at an elevation of 600 feet. The vineyard is west facing on light, deep, well drained loam soils. The vines were planted in 2000 and are trained on cordon/VSP trellising.
Vintage
Much of the growing season was cool, but a welcome hot August helped accelerate veraison and ripening, although we were still a few days behind normal as September approached. There was essentially no rain in September, but we were worried about drought stress in the later ripening reds. We were in that unusual situation where we were hoping for some rain during harvest to refresh the vines. We got more than we bargained for. Tammy dropped 4.5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period in early October. Picking stopped for 2 weeks as we waited for the soil, canopies and most importantly berries to dry out. Immediately after Tammy we had a very discouraging week of misty weather (NorEasterner) that did not add additional accumulation, but prevented things from drying out.
Winemaking
This single vineyard “Bordeaux“ blend is 44% Cabernet Franc, 35% Petit Verdot and 21% Merlot. It represents the best blend of the barrels produced of Boisseau Vineyard. This is the second single vineyard bottling of Richard Boisseau’s Vineyard. We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. Fermentation begins naturally in small one ton fermentors. We punch down by hand once or twice per day. Pressing takes place after about 7 to 10 days, usually before fermentations are complete. The wine was aged in new and old (neutral) oak barrels for 16 months. Unfined and unfiltered. 150 cases produced. Anticipated maturity 2009 to 2015.
Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2005 Vintage | 2005 Boisseau Red