Wine Tasting - VT Polo Club Mercedes Cup

I was so excited to see that this event was Boyer-approved! My roommate, Christine, is in the VT Polo Club, and I've been hearing about polo for almost a year now, but have never experienced a match. Because they're a fairly new club, the team has to travel elsewhere to play matches, so they've never really played on VT's turf. But as a fundraiser and a chance to get their name out there, the club organized this exhibition match last Sunday, including a match, raffle prizes, and two wine tastings (therefore, wine points!).

One of the wine tables there was Fincastle Winery, from Fincastle Virginia, where we did 5 tastings:

Voignier
12.5% Alcohol

Winery Review: "Our Viognier wine is fermented in stainless steel. It displays a clear straw color and aromas of apricots and nectarines with a touch of flint. The wine has rich apricot-tinged fruit on the palate and finishes with a soft nectarine note."
My Review: I definitely got apricots on both the nose and palate. Fruity and light, but had a touch too much heat for my taste. The color was beautiful though - very clear and light tan, reflected the light in a great way. 

Chardonnay 
13% Alcohol

Winery Review: "Our Chardonnay is a dry white aged 6 months in American oak, buttery toast and caramel up front."
My review: Not bad, but nothing special. Got some oak and butter notes from both the nose and palate. 

Cabernet Sauvignon
13% Alcohol

Winery Review: "Our Cabernet Sauvignon is a full bodied dry red aged 2 years in American oak, with cherry and black currant notes."
My review: Very dry - almost no sugar or sweetness. I was thinking of red currents on the mid palate (even though the review says black). There were certainly strong jammy fruit notes. Not unpleasant, but for me this wouldn't be a wine I could easily drink. 

Knight's Tour
14% Alcohol

Winery Review: "Oak aged dry red blend of predominantly Cabernets with winemaker selected blending grapes. Blend ratios are optimized by vintage."
My Review: This was a strong red. Some smoke and spice on the nose that followed into the mid palate. Some berry note, but the finish was lingering, mostly spicy at the end. 

Rose
13.5% Alcohol 

Winery Review: "Refreshing, semi-sweet blend of Chambourcin and Vidal Blanc crafted for well-balanced acidity with cherry and strawberry notes."
My Review: This wine legitimately smelled like a barnyard. I couldn't get past that smell; I believe I tried it and might have gotten those strawberry notes slightly, but I could barely get past the fact that the sensation of animal poop was overtaking my mouth and nose. Definitely not for me. 

While the wines from Fincastle weren't my favorite, this was a great Sunday - experiencing a crazy awesome sport with some great people (who looked pretty fly in all our finery as well, I might add).