Kronick Wino

What’s TANNAT Love About Chateau O’Brien?

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | Wine Tasting Notes | 1 Comment

In a little, slightly overlooked, corner of the Mid-Atlantic states lies Virginia. Ok, fine. It’s not little. But what you might not know is within that state hides a wine region that is vastly up and coming. It’s been up and coming for some time, but until recently I had only heard about it from very close friends with family in the region. But, this summer at Hopkins, it was one customer after another telling me how they had been to the Virginia wine trail. My area of interest today: Fauquier County Wine Trail.

One winery, specifically, stands out amongst the many. Chateau O’Brien at Northpoint.

This winery began producing pretty recently, about 2005, and currently holds about 15 acres. The name, synonymous with a French Bordeaux-esque sound, has an Irish background! Go figure! It is owned and operated by Howard O’Brien (lovely man; very intelligent and sociable). The wines coming out of O’Brien are just sensational! There are only a handful of other wines in my tasting life that I’ve found to be so deliciously silky, well-balanced and easily drinkable as his Northpoint Red (a Blend) and Virigina Limited Release Reserve Tannat.

Tasting Notes - Northpoint Red

This superb blend of Tannot, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot creates a rich, but surprisingly light everyday wine.  At first sniff one inhales a delicate nose of floral aromas, like sweet rose petals and a sweetly spicy background of cinnamon and a touch of oak. The taste is out of this world! Very silky tannins, a bright fruity mouthfeel - so light, but a finish that lingers on the palate for at least a good 20 seconds between sips, making this a lovely sipping treat. I get some strawberry, blackberry, plum, mellow oak, and delicate chocolate nuances on the finish.

(Kind of reminds me of a local Connecticut Red Blend recently sampled at Sunset Meadows in Goshen, CT.)

A bottle of the Northpoint Red will run you around $24/bottle, and worth EVERY sip & penny.

Plus, if you purchase a case in October, you may be one of the lucky winners to spend an entire week in the Outter Banks at one of Buddy’s favorite hang-outs, I’m sure. (Buddy is the little guy on the labels….so cute!). Good luck!

Tags: Limited Reserve, Northpoint Red, O'Brian, O'Brien, Shanandoah Valley, Tannat, Virigina Wine Trail