| Country: | United States |
| Region: | Virginia |
| Winery: | Pearmund Cellars |
| Grape Type: | Viognier |
| Vintage: | 2020 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Pearmund Cellars Viognier Vinecroft Vineyard is made from 100 percent Viognier.
Explosive tropical fruit flavors: Pineapple and peach with hints of grapefruit. Powerful, yet feminine.
Sweet and ripe on the palate with peach, apricot, pineapple, and mango notes. Long and flavorful finish.
In 2019, Chris Pearmund worked with sixteen Virginia wineries to create a blended wine with grapes from each participating vineyard to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of Winemaking in Virginia. A portion of the wine’s proceeds were donated to museums and events that would contribute to tourism in the Commonwealth and foster a broader understanding of Virginia’s cultures and cuisines. This idea sparked another movement to celebrate through wine, and Cameo seemed a perfect way to commemorate the milestone moment in history.
Cameo Wine Collection was created to highlight women in Virginia, and the memorable events that have unfolded in the Commonwealth that lead to the movement to secure women’s right to vote. Raise a glass and toast the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Cameo Rosé honors 12 of Virginia’s most influential women. Each bottle has a label depicting one of the chosen women, who’s contributions range from historic, business, entertainment, politics, and wine. The story of the suffrage movement in Virginia is an important part of the collective history. A variety of cultures and eras have been curated to share recollections of the fearless, passionate ways each woman lived so that a case of wine will contain twelve different individuals to celebrate. Women like Martha Washington, Pearl Bailey, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Cameo Rosé offers aromas of raspberry, strawberry, and peach. Dry on the palate, silky tannins and minerality are balanced by strawberry and orange zest flavors.
Pearmund Cellars Ameritage Red is made from 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 17% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot.
Cherry, currant, and herbaceous flavors. Balanced tannins with a lingering finish. Full-bodied and complex. Limited production.
Vintage Notes: A cool summer and early fall allowed a longer ripening season, helping benefit this years Cabernet Franc, as its natural spice was allowed to mature and become better defined.
Pearmund Cellars Cabernet Franc is made from100% Cabernet Franc. Known primarily as a blending grape in Bordeaux’s left bank. Its ability to grow and mature in Virginia makes it one of the States finest varietals.
Tasting Notes: A nose of cherries, raspberries and fennel. Peppery spice continues on the palate with notes of cocoa and sweet cedar wood, allowing for easy drinking. A hint of pepper will linger on the finish.
Pearmund Cellars Old Vine Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Warm buttery flavor, hint of pear and apple. Full-bodied and lush to the palate. Aged nine months in French oak
A refreshing and crisp, dry white with notes of grapefruit and hints of candied pineapple on the nose. Pearmund Cellars is the largest producer of this standout varietal in the Americas.
Wine Information
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Residual Sugar: 0%
Pearmund Cellars Viognier Vinecroft Vineyard is made from 100 percent Viognier.
Explosive tropical fruit flavors: Pineapple and peach with hints of grapefruit. Powerful, yet feminine.
Sweet and ripe on the palate with peach, apricot, pineapple, and mango notes. Long and flavorful finish.
The Pearmund Cellars Estate
Pearmund Cellars was founded in 1976 and purchased by Chris in 1993 (with his first vintage in 2002), the estate has had active agriculture since the mid-1700s.. It is located in the foothills of eastern Fauquier County, VA. The winery spreads over 7500-square-foot and they farm 25 acres of vines: Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling, Late Harvest Vidal, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Ameritage.
At the estate the oldest Chardonnay vines in Virginia are planted, while the rest of the grapes are sourced from various parts of the Commonwealth. The vineyard is managed with as little intrusion as possible, and the estate operates in a largely holistic, earth-conscious manner. They produce about 7,000 cases annually with an almost equal split between red and white.
They produce 7,000 cases
Pearmund Cellars was voted Virginia's Favorite Winery in 2007.
'Belle Côte', French for “Beautiful Slope”, was named by Sir Peter after the famous ski run in Courchevel, France. The oldest of the four Knights Valley Estate Chardonnay vineyards, ‘Belle Côte’ consistently exemplifies the potential of crafting exceptionally high-quality Chardonnay from our mountain vineyards. Planted at 1,700 to 1,800 feet (518 to 549 meters), Belle Côte has a southeastern exposure and a western border of native trees, which shelter the vines from the hot afternoon sun. These unique attributes create a naturally cool microclimate that provides an extended growing period and slow-ripening fruit, resulting in a later picking schedule that often continues into October (two to three weeks longer than most Chardonnay vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties).
The combination of a wet winter with significant rains in December through March and cool weather delayed budbreak nearly a month. Flowering and fruit set were also pushed back and the weather during the later flowering was favorable resulting in decent fruit set and slightly above average yields for the Chardonnay vineyards—a marked improvement over the record-low yielding 2022 vintage. The growing season was temperate without major heat spikes allowing the berries to hold onto their acidity which carried through into the wines. Harvest was almost a month later than normal with the last Belle Côte block coming in on November 2nd.
As the oldest of the four Peter Michael Winery estate Chardonnay blocks, 'Belle Côte' exemplifies the consistent quality of Chardonnay these mountain vineyards produce. Due to the naturally cool climate of the site’s high elevation, and mitigated exposure to the hot afternoon sun by its southeastern exposure and a stand of trees on its western border, the vines are allowed to slowly ripen. The growing season for Belle Côte typically extends into October, two to three weeks longer than most Chardonnay vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Counties.
With highly expressive aromatics of orange blossom, jasmine, candied orange peel, and rose petal, the 2023 'Belle Côte' showcases its unique terroir and thirty-three-year-old vines with a rich, creamy entry, dense, broad, juicy mid-palate and a lengthy, refined finish. There is a seamless quality to this wine that matches power, gras, and intensity with structure and weightlessness. The 2023 'Belle Côte' can be enjoyed in its youth or after many years of cellaring.
Review:
This extraordinary estate-grown wine from a great vintage is super vibrant, energized and tangy, with vital acidity supporting luscious ripe pear and apple flavors on a silky texture. Can't think of anything it lacks. Seamless, layered, yet structured and fresh, boding well for longer-term aging. It has a melts-in-the-mouth quality and an extra long finish. Drinkable now and best from 2030.
-James Suckling 100 Points
The Factor is predominantly from the Gomersal and Marananga sub-regions of the Barossa, providing dense texture and richness to the palate with subtle notes of olive tapenade, saddle leather and minerals. Ripe aromas of plum and wild blackberries, olive, pepper and spice are all supported by a dark core of espresso roast, ripe blackberries and saltbush. Brooding and densely packed, this lavish wine has ample generosity to cellar for many years, where it will slowly unravel.
Review:
Offers a dense, powerful mix of violet, bittersweet chocolate and sandalwood-infused morello cherries in syrup. Blueberry, blackberry and date-nut bread flavors are plump on a frame of polished and toothsome tannins. Clove and Saigon cinnamon notes linger, with a powerful crescendo on the finish. Shiraz.
Wine Spectator 96 Points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 96+ Points