Virage aims to emulate — and they are very specific about this — the great Right Bank Bordeaux wines. With the inaugural 2007 release of this new winery’s juice — 71% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon — I’m not sure it has the Bordeaux character Virage is looking for, but it is a standout wine nonetheless.
Intense blueberry and dark chocolate notes are the highlight here, and the wine has a solid structure that makes the most of a notoriously tough grape. How Virage has done this with its first wine out of the gate I’m not entirely sure, but the results speak for themselves. The body is huge, and while the finish lacks a certain finesse, it nonetheless keeps calling you back for more.
A- / $45 / viragevineyards.wordpress.com
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With nearly three-quarters of this blend being Cab. Franc I can imagine it falls short of the Bordeaux tradition. That is an unusually high proportion of that particular varietal in a blend if this is any attempt to emulate more traditional bordeaux blends.
The blend is actually fairly close to some of the great Right Bank wines. Ausone, Lafleur, and Cheval-Blanc all use very high (50%+) proportions of Cab Franc, and so they would seem to be the likely models for this wine. I’m curious as to how well this will age, since very long lived wines is one of the other characteristics of the best Right Bank chateaux.