Chrysalis Vineyards claims that Norton is The Real American Grape. Normally, we shy away from North American varietals given their typically green/unripe characteristics. Saying that, the 2014 Norton Estate Bottled made us rethink our position…
Name: Norton Estate Bottled
Vintage: 2014
Producer: Chrysalis Vineyards
Region/Country: Virginia, USA
Grape Varietal(s): Norton
Alcohol Level: 12.8%
Consumed: At home.
Recommended By: A gift from a friend.
Cost: $25 USD for the 2019 vintage (from the winery)
For the more detailed wine review, read on…
Bottle Presentation
A distinct yellow label that showcases the Norton grape and the winery’s name. It would be easy to pick it out on a store shelf. We weren’t sure whether we were looking at a fairy or a butterfly.
Appearance
Deep garnet.
Nose
A clean, medium(+) intensity nose, with blackberry, bramble, black pepper, cedar, fennel, violet, vanilla, sweet spice (cinnamon, cloves), charred wood, blackberry jam, tomato leaf, and a hint of sarsaparilla notes. Despite this wine’s age, we’d still consider it youthful, though it is close to developing.
Palate
A dry, full-bodied red wine with high acidity, medium and drying tannins, and medium alcohol. The pronounced flavour intensity offered notes of bacon, tomato soup, hickory, gravel, earth, black tea leaf, sour/underripe blackberries and cranberries, cassis, and tomato leaf.
Finish
A long finish, with enduring tomato leaf and earth flavours.
Overall Impressions
This 2014 Norton Estate Bottled surprised us. As noted above, we normally shy away from North American varietals due to their often green/unripe aromas and flavours. But, Chrysalis Vineyard’s 2014 Norton Estate Bottled may just have changed our minds in this regard. We found it well balanced, with impressive intensity, great length, and plenty of complexity.
We poured our 2014 Norton Estate Bottled on a Thursday Night Pizza Night (instead of our traditional Friday). This indigenous varietal red paired beautifully with our spicy chorizo and roasted garlic pizza, matching the flavour intensity. As a bonus, it was easy to drink on its own once we cleared the table. We could see this wine also pairing well, if not better, with antipasti, grilled meats (hamburgers and steak), and stronger/older cheeses.
Overall, we’d consider this a very good wine, which is quite the compliment. Bravo to Chrysalis Vineyards. We recommend drinking the 2014 Norton Estate Bottled now, as opposed to cellaring it for any length of time, to enjoy the fruit notes.
Ratings
Overall Rating: 91/100
E-Wine rating: 2/5. We’d purchase a bottle to enjoy now given that it seems to be in its peak drinking window. However, if we were to purchase a more recent vintage, like the 2019 currently on offer at the winery, we would rate it a 4/5, that is, we would buy a couple of bottles (one for now and one to cellar for 2-3 years).
Value: 4/5. At $25 USD per bottle (for the current vintage), we’d consider this a very good value because of its drinkability, both on its own and with food.