William's Article: Rain of Terroir

On a rainy night a little while ago, friends came over for a last-minute dinner.  When they had asked what wine to bring, I just said, “Think terroir.”  They showed up with a 2005 Silex, and a 1999 “Hardscrabble” red from Linden vineyards in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains!  We drank the Silex before dinner.  It was characteristically intense and rich, with great minerality and a finish that just kept giving.  A really great Sauvignon Blanc. A passionate one.  I remember Dagueneau’s wines from when I worked in Paris and would go down to the Loire Valley whenever I could on weekends.  Burgundy would have been almost as easy, I guess, but I’ve always had a thing for Loire wines.  I like Pouilly Fume, especially Silex, and Sancerres, but my soft spot is good Chenin Blanc.  In the Loire, they’re just so incredibly versatile. From the best rich, sweet Vouvray Moelleux — some of the special trie with that unctuous mouthfeel, occasionally a little botrytis taste — to bracing, dry, really old Savennieres that are slowly running out of fruit, but still have this acid spine.  In the mid-’90s you could still find bottles from the ’50s on local wine lists. 

Back to the present.  The Virginia wine was a surprise — a Bordeaux-type blend that I would have guessed to be younger, maybe half its age.  Great floral aromas, following through with candied cherry and green pepper flavors.  It was enjoyable and well done, but not seducing.  I know that property more for their Chardonnays; some are very elegant, and remind me of Meursault.  The small production has a sort of a cult following locally, and the owner is known as one of the most terroir-focused vintners in the state, trying to get the best possible expression of a particular vineyard in the glass.  Best of all, I can get there in an hour and a half on the weekend from my house in D.C.

William McIlhenny is associate publisher of JamesSuckling.com. A former American diplomat and member of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, he held a number of assignments in Europe and Latin America. He works in Washington, D.C.