Chateau O'Brien- Not Magically Delicious

All the wines for our Virginia tasting came from the Chateau O'Brien vineyard. One of our members had recently toured the winery. Of the four we tried, only two had much charm.

Chardonnay is the primary grape variety grown in this state that also ranks 5th in US production. The first was a 2006 that had a beautiful straw to peridot green color. The nose recalled a ripe Golden Delicious apple and it proved to be a light bodied, unoaked gem. The reserve of the same vintage was bogged down in oak and had absolutely no finish.

The third bottle was a red blend called Buddy's Bistro and I would not serve this to my "best friend". It was rusty red, as if it was years older than it's 2006 label. Somewhere in the production, bottling or storage, it oxidized. Nasty stuff!

Luckily, our host opened the vineyard's dessert wine. It smelled and tasted like a warm caramel apple and finished crisp without being cloying.