Revalation Vineyards
Novum
2019
Virginia, USA
Vidal Blanc 85%
Viognier 15%
5 Years
Cognac barrels 100%
Apricot, Orange blossom, Butterscotch, Candied citrus.
About
Revalation 2019 Novum
Aged for 5 years in cognac barrels, Novum is an excellent expression of an oxidative sweet wine. When wines are deliberately exposed to oxygen they develop complexity well beyond the primary fruit. Most often found in Sherry, Julian and Francoise have masterfully brought this style to the rolling hills of central Virginia.
Orchard fruits, apricot, and tangerine are present on the on nose and front palate. What makes this wine stand out is what lies beneath as caramel, butterscotch, and candied citrus come to play as the viscous but not sticky wine envelopes your taste buds.
The fruit doesn’t disappear and with the five years of age this wine is fully integrated so as you savor this slowly be sure to take note of the interplay in this deceptively complex wine.
A rich but friendly dessert wine to pair with a cheese course or creamy desserts such as creme brûlée.
Pairings
In a Pinch
Cheesecake, creamy desserts.
Deeper Dive
Creamy, rich desserts with some fruit will play beautifully here. Creme brûlée, profiteroles or simply vanilla ice cream with honey.
Be wary of a chocolate based dessert as the bitter cocoa will make aspects of the wine seem astringent.
If you are feeling really bold and want to show your friends a transformational experience, pair this with a traditional Basque cheesecake. The burnt edge sings in chorus with subtle notes imparted by the years spent in Cognac barrels, just be ready for everyone to ask for seconds.
Stand out features: Full body, citrus notes, dessert-like sweetness.
Steer Clear
This sweet wine is meant to be served with dessert or perhaps a curated cheese course, stay away from traditional entrees and sides as a pairing.
Cheeses
Recipe Ideas
Service
Which glasses?
Smaller dessert glasses are going to be best here. But flutes and all-purpose glasses could work as well.
Should I decant this?
Why "Doesn't need it"?
This wine has already gone through significant oxidation, and will open up pretty quickly in the glass.
You would also run the risk of the wine warming up too much, and serving temperature is important with this wine.
Serving Temp
The correct serving temperature is important to show a wine’s true potential, but don’t stress over getting the temp exactly right. Use the chart below to try to get in the right ballpark.
Aging
When should I open this?
If a wine has been released by the producer and is available for sale, it means it is ready to drink. Wines don’t necessarily get “better” with age, they just change. Typically, this change involves things like losing fresh fruit flavors in exchange for more savory notes.
The moment you should open the bottle depends on your preference, so it’s more important to understand the evolution and the life span of the bottle than it is to try to time its opening perfectly. (It’s far better to open a bottle too early than too late.)
This bottle should probably be opened between:
2024 – 2030
Vintage
2019
This was a great vintage for most of Virginia.
There was almost no late frost to damage vines, and the growing season very warm and dry. A lot of grapes ripened early, giving vineyard managers the benefit of picking early before rainfall started in the fall.
Overall, this should be a produce wines with riper fruit flavors and good balance.
Producer
ABOUT US
Françoise, a Belgian mathematician, and Julian, an Irish dentist, first met in bustling London just as Françoise was about to move to California. Julian followed her over, and together in the Bay Area they fell in love with the world of fine wine. Meeting scientists who had started their own vineyards led them to realize that they could one day turn their shared passion into a labor of love. Time marched on, and numerous wine tastings and viticulture classes helped to support their passion with a deeper breadth of knowledge.
Together, they moved to Washington D.C. and came to discover the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the hidden bounty of Virginia wines. In 2006, after a four-year search, they bought a horse farm and began the work of turning it into a vineyard during their weekends. In 2012, Françoise transitioned from her academic career to become a full-time vineyard manager. While Julian continues his endodontic practice, he spends his weekends at the vineyard and in the tasting room.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Let the vines sing!
Be the wines local.
Quality over quantity.
Train the youngsters.
In our wines, we look for an expression of our Central Virginia terroir. The combination of lots of sunshine, plenty of rain and the wonderful Virginia soil has the potential to produce outstanding grapes to be turned into delicious wines. We apply as few chemicals to the vines as possible (no herbicide after the second leaf, for instance) while preventing the fruit from being spoiled by diseases that thrive in the mid-Atlantic climate and make vineyard management challenging. We harvest the grapes at the optimal time to provide mature fruit that needs little manipulation in the winery. As a result you can taste the complexity of the fruit in every sip. We are striving for a niche that does not replicate other growing regions.
When seasonal circumstances allow most buds to come to maturation, we drop grape clusters in order to protect the quality of the final product. Our wines are made in small batches of 25 to 150 cases. Some years (2018 comes to mind with its incessant rain), we do not produce single-varietal wines from varieties prone to spoilage.
As part of our mission, we train the next generation of wine-industry professionals. As well as providing high-school students with a job-placement opportunity during the academic year, we welcome summer interns. Françoise also teaches a few blocks of viticulture in the spring horticulture class at the Madison County high school. Together with local education professionals, she is crafting a certification program in viticulture for high-school students throughout the Commonwealth.
TASTING ROOM
Our tasting room is housed in a rustic log cabin featuring a wide stone fireplace, original log chinking and hand sawn floor boards, and the kind of mountain views that can only be seen in Hebron Valley. The cabin was originally built in 1830 on an estate in Southern Virginia, in Java near Gretna, where it was inhabited until the late 1940s. In 2016, Françoise and Julian bought the then-derelict structure, and had it restacked at the feet of the Blue Ridge Mountains. All of the original logs were used, and a few feet of vertical space were added to meet more modern height requirements; the fireplace and chimney were built using stones reclaimed from Virginia farmhouses.
The tasting room is beautiful in every season. In the colder months, the fireplace creates a cozy escape from brisk outdoor temperatures. As the weather warms, the wrap-around porch becomes the perfect place to sit and gaze at the mountains while enjoying a great glass of wine and the company of good friends.
THE VINEYARDS
As you round the corner into our tasting room, you will be able to see Chardonnay, Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Merlot all growing in the foothills of the Shenandoah mountains. These are young vines, planted starting in the Spring of 2018, and this new vineyard will continue to expand to cover an area of twelve acres. Until these vines reach maturity, our wines and verjus are all made from estate-grown grapes cultivated on our land in Reva, about two and a half miles from the tasting room. The production vineyard covers roughly 7 acres of vines: 6 acres about evenly split between red vitis vinifera (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat and Merlot) and white vitis vinifera (Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Gris and Petit Manseng), and one acre planted with hybrids (Vidal Blanc and Traminette). Revalation has grown significantly since we were experimenting with grape growing in one acre of our backyard, but the thrill of watching our own vines bring forth new fruit every summer has not changed at all.
That first experimental acre taught us that rootstock and clone selection are paramount for the production of quality wines. For the sites with optimal exposure, we opted for Riperia Gloire de Monpeller as a rootstock, and for the more shaded areas we chose 101-14. We decided on two clones for Merlot (343, 181), Cabernet Franc (214, 327), Cabernet Sauvignon (191, 412) and Sauvignon Blanc (1, 30). Whenever available, our vines are ENTAV certified.
Interested in joining our wine club?
MEMBER BENEFITS
-4 bottles three times per year – March, July and November
-Complimentary tasting for two at the time of joining
-2 complimentary tastings or glasses at each visit
-10% discount on wine bottles
-15% discount on cases of wine purchased in addition to membership commitment
-Access to limited releases
Contact
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Revalation Vineyards 2019 Novum
AHsomm is a proud member of the Virginia Wineries Association.
