There aren’t many sure things in life. One would be any cocktail made by the amazing Wilson at 304 O’Reilly in Havana, Cuba. This was something I found a few weeks ago during a trip to Cuba with James.
But if you’re talking about Virginia Meritage (and at least somehow we are), I’d call Barboursville‘s Octagon a sure thing. Year after year it showcases the restrained, reliable elegance and age-worthiness of what may be Virginia’s most iconic Bordeaux blend.
Early last month, I opened a magnum of an Octagon “Fourth Edition” at a dinner with some French friends. The deep red, merlot-led wine – mostly from the 1999 vintage – was a delight. After 15 years, it was so beautiful to drink. If I had tasted it blind, I might have guessed it was a good Pomerol – maybe from 2001.
But this is all really just a prelude to a remarkable event a few weeks later. In the rooftop terrace room of the Hay Adams hotel in Washington, DC, which overlooked a snow-covered and spotlit White House, there, Octagon’s winemaker, Luca Paschina, was given Italy’s highest honor, the Ordine al Merito, by the Italian ambassador.
The affable Piedmont-born Paschina has been making wine at Barboursville for 25 years since the winery was founded nearly 40 years ago. He enjoys huge respect in the Virginia wine world, and far beyond, for his accomplishments in advancing a high-quality modern wine industry in Virginia. It would be hard to overstate the positive impact of Paschina, and of Barboursville’s owner, Gianni Zonin, heir to a nearly 200-year-old family wine business in the Veneto, Italy’s largest private producer.
What struck me the most about that evening was the fact that Italy was giving a great winemaker the same level of recognition it might otherwise had given to a world-class artist, designer, or musician. It was a poignant statement about the cultural status of wine, and how it can speak so eloquently of a nation’s creative and entrepreneurial flair – even its identity.
Brava, Italia. Bravo, Luca.
When I was telling James about the ceremony he told me that last year he had tasted a dozen of wines from the 2014 Virginia Governor’s Cup, and showed me the unpublished ratings. Luca’s wines were outstanding and were rated over 90 points by James. Click on the names of the wines below for James’ notes and scores.
Two Twisted Posts Chardonnay Virginia 2012
Barboursville Vineyards Nebbiolo Virginia Reserve 2010
Horton Cellars Tannat Virginia Orange County 2010
Fabbioli Cellars Tannat Virginia 2011
Rockbridge Meritage Virginia DeChiel Reserve Unfiltered 2008
Barren Ridge Vineyard Virginia Meritage 2009
King Family Vineyards Virginia Monticello Meritage 2011
North Gate Vineyard Virginia Loudun County Meritage 2011
Barboursville Vineyard Virginia Octagon 2010
Sunset Hills Vineyard Virginia Mosaic 2010
The Williamsburg Winery Virginia Adagio 2010
Barboursville Vineyard Virginia Malvaxia Passito 2008
William McIlhenny is Associate Publisher of JamesSuckling. He is a foreign affairs expert and advisor to several foundations and corporations. Throughout his earlier diplomatic career in Europe and Latin America he was a passionate promoter of American wines, particularly East Coast wines.
Cong Nguyen