Great Years & Good Years…. That’s the bench mark for a reputable wine region. Nothing less is acceptable. When truly minimalist practices are applied in the cellar, this level of consistency must be derived from the grape itself, because it isn’t coming from cellar corrections. Hence the grape must be a fit for the region…..
Certain grapes rise to the “Impressive” category on this list of consistent quality; that’s Tannat, but its borderline winter hardiness keeps its acreage in Virginia to a select few ideally temperature moderated sites – these are mountainside plantings of elevation within the thermal inversion layer.
Once we have survival conditions – our diurnal pattern as a viticulture region with warm nights to accompany the warm days – makes Virginia the perfect fit – as those warm nights soften the acidity that otherwise overwhelm the wine in a classic coastal maritime climate (regions with cool nights). The saving grace is that Tannat has a programmed ability to overcome the wet soils of a Mid-Atlantic autumn ripening season. In the typical year, approximately mid-September the vines are cued that the season is ending, their growth and water uptake ceases, and the berries begin to dehydrate. By the start of October in conventional mindset it is picked to preserve yield volume prior to dehydration; whereas allowing continued dehydration of as much as 1/3 of the juice yield leads to that “Impressive” slot on the list. That’s where things get exciting.
Our wettest years, notably 2018, produced outstanding wine from Tannat. Admittedly in such a year as 2018 a quantifiable portion of the fruit was removed as it succumbed to pathogens, but this allowed the remaining fruit to prosper to this phase of dehydration based concentration.
The wines are incredibly dark, intensely concentrated, and impressively balanced as a truly complete palate profile – without need of blending components. Often producing high alcohol, the natural acidity and density balance and thus do not show hot alcohol domination.
This is a grape that when grown in the right place, with proper viticultural attention, proceeds to “make itself” in the cellar. This is an ideal grape to produce a ‘True Terroir’ wine. This is distinctive. This is my passion.
Love Tannat. So glad u can provide for my passion. First tasted in Va by US at Honah Lee. It’s a powerful, great varietal
Tannat really represents the philosophy that the wine is made in the vineyard, not the cellar – vineyard practices truly bring about the best flavors and most exciting aspects. I think this was really showcased in the Tannat Vertical Dinner last year – the 2013-2020 showed so beautifully, and Jason walked us through how the growing season itself showed up in the wine, and in how it has changed over the years since it was bottled. What a fascinating grape!