Winegrower Jim Law is one of the great producers in Virginia, growing grapes in the Blue Ridge Mountains since the early 1980s. Inspired by his experience teaching agriculture as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, he did stints at several wineries before settling in at Linden about 30 years ago.
I've been drinking his wines for almost a decade now, and they are very special. Right about now his earliest plantings are coming into a beautiful maturity, and this-- combined with great winemaking-- translates to complexity in the glass. The newer plantings went in at much higher density; it will be exciting to see how this plays out in the glass.
His Hardscrabble chardonnay is full of depth and richness and drinks like a white Burgundy; his Hardscrabble red is stunning when you have it at the right age-- a few months ago I opened up an '06 and it blew me away.
More recently, I had this 2010 Claret which blends fruit from three of his vineyards: Hardscrabble, Avenius, and Boisseau.
I've been drinking his wines for almost a decade now, and they are very special. Right about now his earliest plantings are coming into a beautiful maturity, and this-- combined with great winemaking-- translates to complexity in the glass. The newer plantings went in at much higher density; it will be exciting to see how this plays out in the glass.
His Hardscrabble chardonnay is full of depth and richness and drinks like a white Burgundy; his Hardscrabble red is stunning when you have it at the right age-- a few months ago I opened up an '06 and it blew me away.
More recently, I had this 2010 Claret which blends fruit from three of his vineyards: Hardscrabble, Avenius, and Boisseau.
The blend is:
46% Merlot
31% Cabernet Sauvignon
15% Petit Verdot
8% Cabernet Franc
2010 was an unusually great vintage in Virginia (especially for reds), lauded by every winemaker I've had a chance to meet with.
This wine was rich and age worthy. I definitely opened this a bit too early. I pushed the rest of the bottles to the back of my cellar and I cannot wait to try this same wine 5 or 6 years from now. Still, the great winemaking was obvious and the way the blend came together was a lovely harmony.
The single vineyard bottlings from Linden come in at almost twice the price as this Claret, and if the quality of this wine is any indication of what the single vineyard sites might be like, I cannot wait to be amazed by them.
Something very special is happening at this Virginia winery!
The single vineyard bottlings from Linden come in at almost twice the price as this Claret, and if the quality of this wine is any indication of what the single vineyard sites might be like, I cannot wait to be amazed by them.
Something very special is happening at this Virginia winery!
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