DeVault Family Winery

Wine: Winery: Ambiance: Sep 04, 2011

Favorite Wine: Darion’s Reserve Norton

Norton Wine Review: DeVault Family Vineyards tasting room was in a location hard to describe. Yes, kinda in the town of Concord, VA; but placed on property behind a small gate, behind a formal family home, behind an enclosed all seasons pool, behind a mechanical shed, and next to several acres of grapes. The tasting room itself was a large renovated horse stable. Why did I feel as if I were in a compound? Fortunately the visit provided a healthy mix of mainly dry white, blush and red wines, with a few sweet offerings to add to the general appeal. Though opened in 2010, the seven acre vineyard was already six-to-ten years old with the Norton grapes being first planted. Whites were limited to two Chardonels and a Niagara. DeVault provided two 2009 Norton wines, one produced in stainless steel and the other ‘American oaked’. The first had an unusually light bouquet for a Norton wine with a sharp initial taste quickly decaying in the mouth. The Darion’s Reserve, the oaked Norton, was considerably darker in color and gave way to more promises for future examples from this winery. I’ll put this maiden flight DeVault Family Vineyard Norton away for a short while to see what develops. With a second family generation already involved with the vineyard, hopefully we will continue to see this operation mature for many years.