Pollak Vineyards

Our Wines

All of our grapes are picked by hand into lugs and sorted, then cooled before being crushed or fermented. "The style of wine we make in Virginia is probably closer in character to French wines than those made in California," according to David. "Our wines are grown in the vineyard and our icon depicts that origin - two trunks rising to meet at the cordon."

We have five distinct vineyards on the property: the original 10 acre block, the Viognier field, the Mountain vineyard which is sited on the highest portion of the property at 880 feet, the Pinot Gris block at the winery, and the Smuggler vineyard. The last was named for one of David's great-grandfather's silver mines in Colorado where he founded the town of Aspen.

 

Meritage 20052006 Meritage

Cases Produced: 320
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown from the orginal and Mountain vineyards
Varietals: 44% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot
Vineyard Notes: A wet spring led to a hot dry summer. Very mature fruit and tannins developed on young vines from the original block planted.
Winemaking Notes: This Bordeaux-style blend has a rich full body, soft tannins and abundant fruit on the nose. All three varietals were crushed and then cold-soaked for maximum color. The wine fermented in t-bins, went through extended maceration and then barrel aged in French oak—50% new and 50% neutral - for seventeen months. A complex nose, generous fruit centered on black current, cherry and raspberry.
Price: $24.00

 

Cabernet Franc 20062006 Cabernet Franc

Cases Produced: 350
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the original and Mountain vineyards
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Franc
Vineyard Notes: A dry year with a cool fall produced mature fruit with ripe tannins. Harvested on October 5, 2006.
Winemaking Notes: Hand sorted, then cold soaked for color. The wine was fermented in t-bins, not exceeding 85 degrees, and then punched down and pumped over throughout a fermentation that lasted six days. There was an extended maceration for four weeks before going into French oak barrels - 50% new and 50% neutral - for thirteen months. It was bottled unfiltered. The wine has a deep garnet color and a spicy ripe nose, a round rich palate with dark fruit and mature tannic structure.
Price: $20.00

 

Cabernet Sauvignon 20062006 Cabernet Sauvignon

Cases Produced: 75 available only at the winery
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the Smuggler Vineyard
Varietals: 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot
Vineyard Notes: A hot dry summer on second leaf (yr.) vines led to early ripening on a very low yield. Great maturity and skin suppleness. Harvested September 28, 2006.
Winemaking Notes: Picked in lugs, sorted and destemmed into t-bins. Cold soaked for 3 days and then fermented in t-bins. Punched down and pumped over daily. Femented for 5 days and extended maceration for 3 weeks. Aged in French oak for seventeen months. This is a beautiful Virginia Cabernet Sauvignon with a great nose and finesse.
Expected release: July 2008
Price: $26.00

 

Merlot 20062006 Merlot

Cases Produced: 390
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the original vineyard
Varietals: 97% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot
Vineyard Notes: A dry growing season led to a mature crop with great tannic structure. Harvested on September 17, 2006. Vineyard site is facing North/South at 850 feet elevation on a Ballerina trellis.
Winemaking Notes: The fruit was crushed into bins, then cold soaked for color for six days at 40 degrees. The wine was fermented in t-bins for an extended maceration for two weeks, pressed into a tank to settle, then transferred into French oak barrels - 50% new and 50% neutral - for thirteen months. The wine has deep color, rich mouth feel and dark ripe cherry fruit on the nose. Our Merlot, like all the reds of 2006, was bottled unfiltered.
Price: $18.00

 

Petit Verdot 20062006 Petit Verdot

Cases Produced: 70 available only at the winery
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the Mountain vineyard
Varietals: 95% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc
Vineyard Notes: An ideal growing season began dry and ended with a cool fall at harvest. The soil is rocky clay-loam at 870 feet elevation. Vines are grown on a modified Ballerina trellis. Harvested on September 17, 2006.
Winemaking Notes: The fruit was cold soaked for two days to maximize color, then fermented in t-bins for seven days with an extended maceration for two weeks. The wine aged in French oak barrels - 50% new and 50% neutral - for thirteen months. The wine has bright earthy fruit on the nose, a rich, round palate and soft tannins.
Price: $20.00

 

Chardonnay Virginia 20072007 Chardonnay

Cases Produced: 215
Vineyard designation: Grown on our estate and one vineyard in northern Virginia
Varietals: 100% Chardonnay
Winemaking Notes: Picked in bins, cooled overnight and hard sorted before pressing. Barrel fermented in 50% new oak and finished in stainless steel for five months.
Price: $15.00

 

Chardonnay 2007 Estate2007 Chardonnay Estate Grown

Cases Produced: 245
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the original and Mountain vineyards
Varietals: 100% Chardonnay
Vineyard Notes: Early freeze in April caused low yields
Winemaking Notes: Picked in lugs and sorted. Cooled before pressing. Gravity fed into settling tank for 2 days and then to barrel for fermentation in French oak. Barrel finished for six months. This is a wonderful French Chablis style wine.
Price: $19.00

 

Pinot Gris 20072007 Pinot Gris

Cases Produced: 270
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the original and winery blocks
Varietal: 100% Pinot Gris
Vineyard Notes: A light crop due to a spring freeze produced very mature fruit and seeds. Harvested on August 21, 2007.
Winemaking Notes: Hand sorted and crushed into t-bins. The juice was pressed and gravity fed into a stainless steel tank to ferment at 70 degrees for eight days. The wine has a citrus nose, mouth feel of ripe fruit, and a clean crisp finish.
Price: $16.00

 

Viognier 20072007 Viognier

Cases Produced: 290
Vineyard Designation: Estate-grown on the Viognier vineyard
Varietal: 100% Viognier
Vineyard Notes: A light crop due to a spring freeze. The intensity reflects the very hot, dry summer. Harvested on September 8, 2007.
Winemaking Notes: Hand sorted, the grapes were destemmed and cold soaked 12 hours in our tank press, then pressed and gravity fed into a stainless steel tank. The juice fermented in the tank at less than 70 degrees for ten days. The wine has a bright tropical nose with pear, melon and honeysuckle, abundant fruit and a clean, deep finish.
Price: $18.00

 

Rosé 20072007 Rose

Cases Produced: 190
Vineyard Designation: free run blend of all reds
Varietals: 45% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, 17% Petit Verdot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vineyard Notes: All of the reds in this wine were bled and cold stored from beginning of crush to end. The result is a very fruit forward wine with depth of palate and color paired with a fresh, vibrant nose and finish.
Winemaking Notes: The wine was cold stored at less than 50 degrees to stall fermentation as additional fractions were added. The clean juice was racked from the heavy lees and inoculated in a tank to allow a cool slow fermentation at 68 degrees. The wine was very slowly finished dry and has overtones of fresh strawberries in the bottle.
Price: $14.00