Tasting - Horton Vineyards 2017 Norton

Name: Horton - Horton Vineyards - Norton
Variety: 100% Norton
Region: Gordonsville, VA
Country: USA
Year: 2017
Price: $20

Vivino Tasting Notes: Of this vintage, people described barely ripe cherries, stone fruit, plum, earthy clay, and other dark fruits, with a nose that exudes much the same, with included oak presence. Some described their first sip to be very acidic, leaving a tart cherry aftertaste, further describing this bottle to still potentially be young; hinting that it might need another year, or a long decanting, to really smooth out.  - Vivino Comments and Tasting Notes

Wine Folly: Just as the last, such is the same here, the book lacks information about such an obscure varietal. The back of the bottle describes the Horton varietal as the 'original Virginia claret,' a grape that is native to Virginia and had produced internationally prize winning clarets of the Monticello Wine Company of Charlottesville in the late 1800's. A dark, rich color, with an aroma of plums and tart cherries, and a spicy finish a descriptors the winery flaunts of this grape.

My review: The third and final bottle in a small vertical series I decided to try. This first bottle is the 2017 vintage of the same Norton red, from the Virginia based Horton Winery - a favorite of my mother's. It's aroma is heavy with notes of oak, alcohol, tannins, dried plums, and an earthy minerality similar to top soil. The mouthfeel is curiously more smooth than the 2016 vintage, but not nearly as smooth as the 2015 vintage, despite having the least amount of years aging in the bottle out of the three of them. Notes of black cherries, black currants, black pepper, cinnamon, earthy minerals, and oak ring through loud and clear, more potent than both the 2015 and 2016 vintages; as one would expect from fewer years of applied aging. This was a fun little journey, as I've done plenty of craft beer verticals, but never a wine vertical, it's quite interesting how vintage to vintage the grapes and wines change, some years being more smooth, some being more harsh, others having notes that were lacking from those before it!

No food was had, while tasting this wine - just a glass, and some good music.