2009 Avenius Red
Black cherries, savory and brooding nose. Palate is sinewy but dense and dark, finishes fresh with some white pepper and espresso bitterness coming from the Petit Verdot.
Vineyard
Avenius Vineyard (100%), Warren Co. is just 1 mile north of Linden Vineyards at 1,300 feet elevation with an eastern slope. Soils are primarily greenstone. Petit Verdot is on Geneva Double Curtain training, Merlot on VSP and Cabernet Sauvignon is trained to Lyre. Vines planted in 1998, except Merlot planted in 2007.
Vintage
2009 started with a very cool, wet spring. As the season progressed, weather conditions improved. June was manageable, July was typical with only the occasional thunderstorm and August was dry, but cooler than normal. It was obvious at véraison that it would be a late season and that Merlot clusters were uneven in their ripening. As a result, green harvest at 80% véraison was ruthless.
“Uncommonly lucky” refers to an amazingly dry stretch during harvest. Northern Virginia was spared from the significant rains that soaked areas to the north, east, south and west. Red winegrapes required judicious work in the vineyard, meticulous sorting at the crush pad, bleeding, and draconian declassification. Harvest was from October 6 to October 22, 2009.
Winemaking
The 2009 vintage included Merlot for the first time We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. 15% bleed. An average of 5 days cold soak. Fermentation begins naturally (no added yeast) in small one-ton fermenters. Punched down and pumped over averaging two times per day. Extensive post fermentation macerations make for a total cuvaison of 28 to 30 days. Malo in barrels. The wine was aged in new (50%) and slightly used French oak barrels for 21 months. Bottled July of 2011. Unfined and unfiltered. 62% Petit Verdot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Merlot. 1,977 bottles produced. Drink now through 2025.
Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2009 Vintage | 2009 Avenius Red