Rachel Martin of the family that owns BOXWOOD Winery in Virginia came by the store today, Thursday afternoon, November 11th, 2010 to taste her new 2008 releases of both her family's " Boxwood " and " Topiary " Bordeaux-style that are based on their Bordeaux counterparts of the Left and the Right Banks of Bordeaux, France. Can I possibly manage to get that word " Bordeaux " into the sentence above any more times than three!?! You get the connection?
Rachel tasted them to both Chris Barker and myself and to our good customer and talented artist friend Andrea Way that lives in our neighborhood. Andrea is pictured here in several pictures with Rachael.
I have taken the liberty to post more of my artsy photos here than usual as I originally intended to post them on my chatart.blogspot,com blog. Oh well, I was captivated both by Rachel's wines as well as I was by her. So shoot me! You looked great earlier today Rachel and I was a bit determined around trying both of the " new " wines of the 2008 vintage to capture your essence so-to-speak. Being a male artist I often get caught-up in this quest and sometimes things flow as they did here and sometimes I just can't seem to get the ball rolling.
I had some bottles of the 2007 " Topiary " red on my shelf and I brought them over to our tasting table for you to sign. We tasted the half-bottles ( 375ml size ) on some of our customers along with a full bottle ( 750ml bottle ) of the 2007. Thanks Rachel : it is showing beautifully and it was my favorite to enjoy now of the three.
Your dry rose will not be available until March 2011 you told me as you were leaving.
The " Topiary " 2008 from the half-bottle was young, bright, toasty and a bit lean and still closed-in and needing to become a bit more round and soft and fleshed-out on the palate. It will all happen in good time. It may be enjoyed now, especially out of the half-bottle size but I do believe that with some more time in the bottle ( 2-5 years ) that it will be well worth the wait and any sacrifice.
The 2008 half-bottle of the " Boxwood " was fuller, denser, deeper and though heartier I still found it more enjoyable like this, sipping from the bottle without any food. It. too needs to be aged more and enjoyed later as it rounds-out and blossoms with age. Again I would wait on it another 2-5 years or more. It's hard to say exactly how much time to wait as you have been only making these wines for a very short time and so there is not history yet. I'm willing to gamble, however on my " guesstimate " - is this an official word yet? - as the wine is balanced just like the " Topiary " and yet quite closed-in and revealing perhaps only fifty percent of it's charms at least to my taste.
Chris and I gave Rachel and order to deliver soon as after tonight I think we will be all sold-out of the 2007 " Topiary " that Rachel was kind enough to sign our remaining bottles. I sold some with the bottle that she left us. There was only one bottle left for sale when I left. Did you sell it Chris?
We worked it out that Rachel will come to the store on the Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving from 2-5 PM and taste her three wines with our customers : both the " Topiary " 2008, the " Boxwood " 2008 and the " Topiary " 2007. They will all be for sale at special prices at this tasting and , of course they will make really special gifts for this holiday season.
We will carry the 2008 " Boxwood " in the half-bottle size as well as in the 750ml bottle size. You can choose to buy one or the other or both. Not a bad idea for a stocking-stuffer?
I had fun swirling the 2007 " Topiary " around in my Reidel wine-tasting glass as I snapped these pictures of Rachel. I think that they came out quite well and am quite pleased.
To follow BOXWOOD Winery you have many options besides us. Some of them are : !0 On Facebook at : Boxwood Winery, 2) On Twitter at Boxwood Winery and 3) on their blog at : Boxwood Winery Blog. Of course you can always call us and come to see us at our store Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com, www.clevelandparkwine.com, and on Facebook at : clevelandparkwines&spirits.
I am sure that I have much more to say but it will have to wait as it is now midnight exactly and I am tired and ready for bed. It's been a great, long day and I was thrilled that you came by Rachel and were a really bright part of it. Bravo on your " new " releases and we look forward to your next in-store wine-tasting with us.
I hope that you all enjoy these pictures as much as I do. There are double this amount that I took and I am sure that I will post some of those time-permitting at chatart.blogspot.com so be on the look for those as well very soon.
Look at this picture above with the wine seeming to be on it's side ? Fun, stimulating. I like it.
I especially like this picture above. I take all my digital pictures here with my trusty Canon " Power Shot " camera. I experiment and trust that together man and machine will produce some interesting. evocative, provocative and beautiful, thoughtful pictures as well that make one stop and look ...
That's my idea anyway, get people stimulated to go out in search of these wines to buy and to taste and to enjoy with a meal and family, friends and lovers. I want the images to do this and not so much the words or the phrases or the points and the scores and the hype which I find so besides the point, artificial and misleading.
The only other thing that would be better Rachel would be to be able to enjoy them in your company. That's why I will take this moment here to urge everyone to come and meet you and enjoy these wines with you in our store on the day before Thanksgiving, 2010 from 2-5 PM.
Rachel has already come and done an in-store/wine-tasting with viticulturist Lucie Morton an old customer and friend of mine from the old Mayflower Wines & Spirits days of Sidney Moore and Michael Downey back in the mid eighties. Check those earlier blogs here as well at chatwine.blogspot.com. That was a wonderful tasting and this one will be equally exciting : I can feel it in my bones, trust me : be there.
I love how Rachel's 2007 " Topiary " red wine acts like a scarf or a layer of protection, color and warmth, too here as I swirl the glass and see her through it : great viscosity and nuances of color and shade, light and dark ...
I used the flash on the picture above and it makes it look like it was taken at night with only candle light and the flash. The image and atmosphere that it captures is so very different than that without a flash.
Being an artist all this matters to me : being a male all this helps to intensify, accent and stimulate all that is artist and male and human in me, too - amplifying things so many times over that it's pointless to count and simply advisable to hang-on/hold-on tight and enjoy a very entertaining and exciting ride and time/ and moment indeed.
Thanks Rachel, TONY
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