{"id":4252,"date":"2011-01-28T22:23:49","date_gmt":"2011-01-29T02:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/?p=4252"},"modified":"2011-02-07T22:32:04","modified_gmt":"2011-02-08T02:32:04","slug":"johns-january-pick-of-the-month-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.hagarty-on-wine.com\/OnWineBlog\/johns-january-pick-of-the-month-2\/","title":{"rendered":"John’s January Pick of the Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chester Gap Cellars Cabernet Franc Goes Deep<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having rack of lamb tonight,\u201d my wife, Jean, advises.\u00a0 It\u2019s my cue to select a wine from our cellar and get the fireplace going, both enjoyable tasks that will culminate in a cozy evening at home.<\/p>\n

With the fire roaring, I turn my attention to the wine that will accompany our Australian rack of lamb, roasted red bliss potatoes with rosemary and hericot vert green beans saut\u00e9ed in olive oil with sliced almonds and a dash of crushed garlic.\u00a0 My selection for the full-bodied repast verily jumps out of my wine rack: Chester Gap Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc.<\/p>\n

\"\"I\u2019ve enjoyed Chester Gap<\/span> <\/span>Cellars<\/span><\/a> wines from the day the winery opened. Owner and winemaker Bernd Jung produces clean, artisanal wines with depth and spot-on varietal character.\u00a0 His \u201908 Cabernet Franc is one of my favorites.\u00a0 It pours an almost inky garnet in the glass and releases aromatic notes of mint, cherry, smoke and spice.\u00a0 I force myself to swirl and sniff rather than just start drinking; easy boy, easy.<\/p>\n

On the palate, the nose has faithfully interpreted the rich, mouth filling black fruit, mint and subtle coffee notes, all framed by smooth tannins.\u00a0 We enjoy a glass before dinner and relish the rest of the bottle with the lamb.\u00a0 With our food, the wine jumps into overdrive and we both exchange smiles of pleasure.\u00a0 Is this Napa Valley in a Virginia bottle? \u00a0Not a chance.\u00a0 This is Old Dominion wine at its best.<\/p>\n

Published in the Spring edition of Virginia Wine Lovers<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chester Gap Cellars Cabernet Franc Goes Deep \u201cWe\u2019re having rack of lamb tonight,\u201d my wife, Jean, advises.\u00a0 It\u2019s my cue to select a wine from our cellar and get the fireplace going, both enjoyable tasks that will culminate in a cozy evening at home. With the fire roaring, I turn my attention to the wine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[246,101,43,16,247],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n