RdV Vineyards, Rendezvous, Middleburg Virginia

PNP. Enjoyed over several hours. Fruit is up front. Ripe black cherry, blackberry, a touch of menthol. Oak has almost completely disappeared. This wine is in a great place, but can still age longer. Color is still vibrant, with almost no brick red around the rim.

Beautiful nose, dark black fruits, but was left a little underwhelmed. Found it almost thin on the pallet. I did not decant, but I didn’t notice a big difference/opening upover the course of the bottle.

Serious wine. Needs time to open up — will improve with age.

Decant for 45+ minutes

Agree with others, we decanted for about 45 minutes and it really opened up. Had a bottle about a 9-12 months ago and was frankly underwhelmed, I think the wine may have been in a dumb phase, because it’s great right now and frankly it’s still on the upswing and can easily cellar for a number of years. Agree with others, black fruits on the nose, with some earth tones, looking forward to seeing how it evolves.

Getting even better. It needs a 1hr decant and then it’s fantastic. Blackberry, blueberry, graphite, wet granite. We’ll balanced Merlot leading blend. Elegant, refined, just such a great wine.

Better than expected. It improved nicely from the original tasting at the vineyard a few years ago. It's still overpriced, but it's very nice. The acids and tannins are balanced, it complemented a fairly fatty rack of lamb nicely. Initially on open there was some greenness and a bit of thyme that wasn't awesome, but that faded after 45 minutes of decanting.

Not the greatest showing. Good fruits, but wasn't in balance. Some weird green and spice notes that detracted.

Enjoyed a bottle at RdV. It was nice to get a second look after opening one of my own a couple of months ago. The 2017’s across the board are excellent. (Virginia, not Napa) Nose is floral. Excellent merlot-leading wine.

Young and aromatic, this wine is dominated by fruit notes. On the nose, dark fruit and berry notes are the most prominent, including black berries, blueberries, and some black pepper. It is both well balanced and complex, a great example of how good Virginia wines can be.

PNP, this wine needs a little more time to really shine. A good Rendezvous, medium body, medium+ finish. Blueberry, cherry, and a hint of oak.

92 pts - blueberry, blackberry, baking spices, cocoa

Needed a minimum 2 hour decant, which opened it up to beautiful red fruit, black fruit, blackberry and cocoa notes, as well as some organic earth notes

Medium garnet; Medium intensity, youthful aromatics. Primary aromas from red fruit (red plum, cassis, red currant), black fruit (black currant, black plum, blueberry), herbal (sage, eucalyptus, lavender), herbaceous (bell pepper, jalapeno, asparagus) and minerals. Secondary aromas from oak (vanilla, baking spices, allspice). Dry, medium+ acidity, medium+ tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium+ intensity and long finish. Palate reflects the nose. Outstanding. Drink now, may benefit from aging. Sweet, ripe fruit with savory herb and herbaceous undertones. MERLOT 45%, CABERNET SAUVIGNON …

RdV tasting with Joshua Grainer (at the winery) : Hedonistic, lovely nose with some vanilla that yet to be fully integrated. some coffee or mocha notes and lots of sweet fruit. Slightly drying finish with some oak bitter. I think this will resolve itself. Great wine. Recommended.