Vison Noir: Another Side of the 2015 Chambourcin Harvest

Our 2015 Chambourcin harvest holds a special place in Hiddencroft’s winemaking history.

It was the vintage that helped shape our approach to extended barrel aging. But it also gave us the opportunity to explore an entirely different expression of Chambourcin.

Following fermentation of the entire 2015 Chambourcin vintage, we drew off a portion of the young wine, fortified it, and placed it in barrels for two years.

That wine became Vison Noir, our dry, fortified, port-style Chambourcin.

The remaining wine embarked on a much longer journey. We used it for an extended-élevage experiment, eventually producing two bottlings: one after approximately four and a half years in neutral oak and another after seven and a half years. The longer-aged wine became our 2015 Chambourcin Reserve.

Although both wines originated from the same harvest and fermentation, they followed very different paths.

Vison Noir explored the effects of fortification and two years of barrel aging on Chambourcin, while the Reserve experiment explored what could happen when the wine matured for an exceptionally long period in neutral oak.

And Vison Noir earned recognition well beyond our tasting room.

In February 2018, Vison Noir 2015 received a Gold Medal and Best of Class, scoring 92 points, at the International Eastern Wine Competition (East Meets West) in Santa Rosa, California.

It was particularly gratifying to see an unconventional wine receive such recognition.

Meanwhile, the extended-élevage experiment continued quietly in our cellar. Its eventual success encouraged us to commit the entire 2016 Chambourcin vintage to seven and a half years of aging in neutral oak.

Looking back, the 2015 harvest became an important turning point in our winemaking.

From one harvest and one fermentation came two very different approaches: a dry, fortified Chambourcin aged for two years that became an award winner, and an extended-aging experiment that helped establish our long-élevage philosophy.

One harvest. One fermentation. Two very different wines—and two lasting contributions to Hiddencroft’s history.