It's been almost four years since David and Susan Drillock took over Cooper Vineyards in Louisa, Virginia, and rechristened it Fifty-Third Winery & Vineyard. They took out unproductive/diseased Albarino, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Norton vines and replaced them with Albarino, Chamborcin, Chardonel, Petit Verdot and Viognier. They planted approximately 8,000 vines. Basically they doubled the existing number of vines. They added fencing around the vineyard to keep the grape loving deer out, and changed the spacing inside the vineyard to tighter plantings. This is all part of their five year plan to remake the old winery.
Graham Bell is the winemaker at Fifty-Third. He is a native of Swarthmore, PA. Graham’s winemaking experience was with some of the earliest wineries established in Virginia including Montdomaine and Horton Cellars. In 1991, he was full time assistant winemaker at Montdomaine, in 1996 winemaker at Horton, 2001 winemaker at Lake Anna Winery. He joined Cooper Vineyards in 2002. Graham's incredibly capable and talented Assistant Winemaker is Chelsey Blevins. Sacramento Tenorio-Lara is the Director of Vineyard Operations. Sacramento joined Fifty-Third in March of 2017, and arrived with more than 20 years of vineyard experience in the California and Virginia Wine industry.
According to Wikipedia, "Chardonel is a late ripening white wine hybrid grape which can produce a high quality wine with varietal character. It is a result of a cross made by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of the popular French American hybrid Seyval and the classic vitis vinifera Chardonnay. It is distinguished by its superior wine quality combined with high productivity and cold hardiness superior to its acclaimed parent Chardonnay. The vine is vigorous and productive, producing green grapes with large clusters."
Originally I hated many of the first Chardonels that were made. They were big clunky messes. But this Fifty-Third Chardonel 2016 was an eye opener. It had lovely acidity and mouth feel. Nice flavors of Granny Smith apple and tropical fruits, and lovely bright citrus acidity to boot. Easily one of the nicest Chardonels I have ever tasted, and certainly a wine that should be held up to cool climate winemaker and consumers alike. A lovely, balanced and complex white, made by real professionals. A lovely, lovely surprise!
Great job!