2021 Linden Vineyards - Hardscrabble Red Virginia (750ml)

Hardscrabble is the local name for the land around Linden’s winery, a southern term for poor soils and hard-won livings that was in use long before any vines were planted. For decades, Hardscrabble Red emulated Bordeaux. A growing confidence in the site has since steered it toward restraint, with power drawn from structure and not from ultra-ripe fruit, high alcohol, or heavy oak.

The 2021 is 95 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 percent Cabernet Franc from the estate vineyard on the Blue Ridge, at 1,200 to 1,400 feet on an east-to-south slope. Rocky granite soils give depth, structure, and length, and the vines are 10 to 20 years old. Hail in May caused only cosmetic damage to the shoots. The grapes were sorted, destemmed, and fermented warm, with gentle pump-overs and then punch downs. After 20 to 28 days the wine was pressed and aged for 12 months in used and new French oak. Only 2,530 bottles were made.

Elegant, restrained, and concentrated, the wine carries brambleberry fruit, dried herbs, and a dusting of cocoa. Fine, firm structure sits beneath a velvety surface, with fresh acidity and moderate alcohol of 12.9 percent. Built for the cellar, it is intended to drink well from 2025 through 2031.