Bogati Bodega and Vineyard

A few short weekends ago, Emilie and I made our first foray of the season into Loudoun County wine country. Would it surprise you that what brought us there in the first place was not wine, but a distillery? Catoctin Creek Distillery to be exact. If you haven’t heard, Virginia wine country isn’t just about wine anymore…but that’s another post for another day. Now, that same weekend, we had volunteered to pour at a festival, but those plans fell through. Enter our dear friend, Yusef, and an invitation to join in on an outing to Catoctin Creek to sample some award winning Virginia spirits. Our charge was to find two or three wineries to hit afterwards, a charge we happily accepted.

The first thing I needed to do was locate the distillery. Purceville, VA. Oh, goodness, we were in for a haul, not to mention we were venturing into wine country unfamiliar to us. I think the closest winery I could identify was a good 40 minute drive south-ish from the distillery. That would work for Emilie and myself, but not so much for our friends, so I started the google map search and discovered this charming sister winery to Veramar that we have added to our favorites list: Bogati Bodega and Vineyard!

According to the delightful gentleman, Schuyler (pronounced “Skylar”), who poured for us that afternoon, Bogati is the result of an inspired trip to Argentina. You will definitely feel that South American energy in both the decor and in the wine. Comfy couches invite you to stay awhile to savor a glass. Oh, and when you come up to the tasting bar and admire the lovely photographic art hanging on the wall, please, please, please remember that there are no neon colored lights on the National Mall and that there are other obelisks in the world besides the Washington Monument, lol! I’ll give you hint, the city the photograph was taken in inspired Bogati ;-).

Now for the wines! We tasted four that day, as the Cab Franc and Malbec were sold out, as well as a delightful sangria.

• Bogati Seyval Blanc– A silver medal winner, this barrel aged white had a nice and clean minerality and an aroma of fresh hay. Of course, Emilie and barrel aged whites do not get along, but I thought this white had nice acidity to balance out that creaminess from the wood.
• Bogati Viognier – Unlike many Virginia Viognier, this one did not hit your nose with a perfume bottle, but rather exhibited a more subtle version of the typical blossoms and succulent stone fruit fragrances. It had a fresh citrusy character that I enjoyed and I found that it tasted more like a tart, just ripened peach or apricot rather than the sweeter taste of riper stone fruits.
• Bogati Tango Blue – Another silver medal winner, I found this wine to be what I like to call “fruit sweet”. Think of when you bite into a ripened tropical fruit like a mango. It’s sweet, but not sugary sweet. The acidity was softer in this white than the Viognier and Seyval Blanc and I can see this wine being a huge hit when summer decides it’s going to stay!
• Bogati Syrah/ Mourverdre – Our favorite! Where to start on this one? Bold and powerful, but completely approachable. The first taste on my tongue was of juicy black fruits which mellowed out on the back of my tongue and finished as a vanilla latte! I think this is one of the most interesting wines I have tasted, because after awhile the latte flavors disappeared and the fruit rounded out even more and took center stage. Schuyler commended us on our good taste, as this was his favorite as well, when both Emilie and I bought a glass to enjoy.
• Bogati’s Sangria – The wine base for the Sangria is the Viognier. Mixed with orange juice and ginger ale, even on the cold rainy day we were experiencing, this drink just makes you smile. I can only imagine it on a hot summer day!

Needless to say we will find ourselves back at Bogati, we still have two wines to taste…and I heard something about tango classes? 🙂

~Ruth