Desert Rose Winery

 Desert Rose Winery
 was has some really good tasting wines.  This vineyard is still fairly young, so it lacks the library that you might find at Linden.  However, winemaker Bob Claymire is producing a good tasting wine.  The winery is done in a ranch style atmosphere, which gives it a nice American appeal. on this tasting I had several single varietals, which I found to be refreshing, because most wineries seem to serve blends (which are often lower quality grapes).  This paid off for me, because I was really convinced that Bob knew how to select high quality grapes for his wines.  I tasted several wines on their list.  Wines that left an impression included Hitch Hollow Chardonnay, Sparky Rose, Desert Delight Vidal Blanc, R.E.D. 100% Chambourcin (which I really enjoyed), Cabernet Franc (which won double gold), and Starboard Port.  They also have a Meritage on their tasting sheet.  Meritage is a Merlot blend, which they pulled off very nicely.  Here is their complete list of descriptions and wines:Wine List and Descriptions

Tasting Room

Tasting Room

Desert Rose

Linden Vineyards

Panorama looking back at Linden.

Linden welcome sign.

Snapshot of the vines at Hardscrabble.

Barrels in the "Cave" at Linden

 Linden Vineyard's  (est. 1989) slogan is "Never Content".  This slogan translates winemaker and grape grower, Jim Law's approach to this craft and science.  Linden is a very Burgundian style vineyard and wine.  If you are looking for a European style experience and a wine that embodies the aspects of  science, craft and vision then you need to base your Virginia wine experience at Linden.  All vintages found at this winery are Estate wines.  Linden pulls its grapes from 3 vineyards: Hardscrabble, Avenius, and Boisseau.  Hardscrabble has about 20 acres in vine, and Avenius and Boisseau have about 5 acres each.  I conducted both a general tasting and a cellar tasting.  During the general tasting I tried the 2011 Seyval, 2011 Rose, 2011 Red, 2010 Claret, and 2010 Vidal Riesling.  These wines are made with a Bordeaux style blending.  I enjoyed this flight of vintages, because I was able to compare and contrast the effect of the weather on the vineyard between 2010 and 2011.   2011 was a very wet year, while 2010 was considered a dryer or drought year.   After the general tasting, I moved to the cellar, which is called the "cave".  In the Cave, I was expertly guided through a richer selection of Jim's wines.  In this tasting I was given the chance to taste the wine from grapes grown at Avenius (2010 and 2011 Avenius Chardonnay) and Hardscrabble (2006 and 2009 Hardscrabble Red).  These two sites are separated by a geographic fault line.  Avenius has a slate soil, while Hardscrabble is comprised of limestone.  Additionally, I was able to try the 2005 and 2008 Late Harvest Vidal.  The Chardonnay, Seyval, and Vidal were the single varietals that I tried.  On Jim's website he writes that place is more important than grape variety and that each vineyards site is expressed in the glass.  You can truly experience the vision and belief in Linden's wines.  Now that I have established a base line for what a true wine should taste like and what my style of wine is, I know what to look for in the future on visits to other vineyards in Virginia.

Panorama of the vineyards at Hardscrabble.