Style

“Berry-licious” with cherry-filled pastry, licorice, and herbal aromas and flavors. Refreshing sweet fruit, with a lush mid-palate, and subtle low impact tannins.

Food Pairings

Beef and green peppers, chicken on the grill, roasted root vegetables, Thanksgiving dinner.

Vineyards

Boisseau Vineyard, Warren Co. 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. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot were planted in 2000. Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted in 2006. All are trained on cordon/VSP trellising.

Vintage

2019 was a very strong vintage for reds, though yields were down as some varieties recovered from rainy 2018.

Bud break in late April was normal and consistent. A warm, wet May stimulated rapid shoot growth. Some vineyard blocks exhibited very uneven shoot development. This proved to be a result of vascular damage from poor hardening off in late 2018. Young vines and Merlot were the most adversely affected.

An early bloom (late May through early June) was successful under ideal conditions (warm and sunny). The difference in cluster size and quantity was noticeable. Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc having larger than normal bunches, but Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon being sparse.

July started a long, hot, dry period, which would last until harvest was over. There remained ample moisture in the ground, so vines did not slow their vegetative cycle until early August (right on time for véraison). A hot, dry August accelerated ripening.

Red grapes were picked under hot dry conditions, which is most unusual as a few decades ago we often had to wear gloves to keep our fingers warm. While it was an easy harvest, questions lingered about the timing of picking as the juice was very ripe, but tannins lagged in maturity. We opted to pick on the early side to preserve freshness and integrity of terroir. Extractions were gentle so as not to pick up any greenness or bitterness from seeds. Harvest was September 19 through 25, 2019.

Winemaking

We hand sort before destemming and then again afterwards to remove pink berries and stem pieces. Pumped over averaging once per day, with some punch downs later in fermentation. Post fermentation macerations make for a total cuvaison of 22 days. Malo in barrels. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 21 months. Bottled August 2019. 61% Cabernet Franc, 19% Petit Verdot, 17% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink through 2027. 1,492 bottles produced. 14.8% alcohol.

Linden Vineyards / Our Wines / 2019 Vintage | 2019 Boisseau Red