Tannat is a very unique and interesting grape for Virginia.  It can produce wines with great color and tannin, and with the ability to age for decades.  That said, there is often something missing from the mid-palate of Virginia Tannates, and we wanted to fill that space in, to create a full, lush, round Tannat with a bit more delicacy and less "rusticness" than the grape often has.  We try to achieve this in the vineyard, but also worked with the 2017 Staggerwing fruit a bit differently in the cellar, with a cooler, longer fermentation and considerable maceration time.

This wine is no joke.  Bold, dark, highly ripe, very powerful, with potent, slightly grippy tannins. What is most exciting for us about the Bethany Ridge Tannat is how the wine will age over the next ten years.  There is no reason to expect that is will not develop and become more and more interesting over time.

100% Tannat, Staggerwing Vineyard