Revisiting Casanel Vineyards

I went out to Casanel last year after they had just opened and had a great time. There was still a lot that Casey and Nelson wanted to do to the winery, so I thought it would be a good time for a follow up visit.

The tasting room is completely finished, including the downstairs area, and it looks really nice. Both the tasting room and the adjacent patio are warm and inviting. Nelson is still recovering from his surgery (we all wish you well) but his daughters took good care of us. The gazebo is almost finished and we were were able to sit under it and enjoy the feeling of being in the middle of the lake while we drank our wine.

As for the wines, they have added a Chardonnay (done in the Chablis style) to their line up, and, as I suspected the Cabernet Sauvignon has aged well. Its a surprisingly smooth wine, full bodied with lots of cherry and cedar.

The vines are also coming along nicely, with at least one section looking like it will be ready to yield good fruit next year.

Casanel Vineyards

Casanel Vineyards is one of the newest wineries in Loudoun County. One of the cool things about Virginia wineries is that many of them have been able to take advantage of existing buildings to make really unique tasting rooms. Willowcroft and Sunset Hills are just two examples of wineries that have created really unique tasting venues.

Casanel follows in this tradition with their efforts to turn a 200+ year old stone barn into a tasting room. They've even documented their progress.

Of course a unique tasting experience is no good without good wines to match. While they have planted their own grapes, it will still be a year or two before those are ready. In the meantime they are making their wines over at Hillsborough. Make no mistake, these are not Hillsborough wines re-labelled, these are Casanel wines.

They currently offer 4 wines, a Viognier which is crisp and dry and a Norton, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The reds are all 2007, so they are still a little young, but they show promise. The Cabernet Sauvignon was the standout here, it is immediately drinkable, but letting it decant for a while really brings out the flavors.