A red wine produced by Barboursville Vineyards has been selected among the top 50 U.S. wines by Decanter, a leading British wine publication, underscoring the continuing worldwide recognition for the state’s wine and tourism industries.
The winery is about a two-hour drive southwest from Alexandria, just north of Charlottesville.
Barboursville’s Octagon 2017 is the first Virginia wine to make the list. Only two other wines originated outside the West Coast—from New York and Texas—while the remainder came from California, Oregon and Washington.
Octagon is always a Bordeaux-style blend of several grape varietals, with some variation in the exact blend depending on the year, grown at the Orange County winery located in the Monticello American Viticultural Area (AVA) in central Virginia. The 2017 vintage combines Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.
“This recent recognition is a further very important affirmation that the soil and climate conditions are gifting us at Barboursville Vineyards and the Monticello AVA an opportunity to craft world-class wines with great consistency,” said Luca Paschina, General Manager and Winemaker at Barboursville.
Accolades for American Winemaking
The selections for Decanter’s Top 50 U.S. Wines of 2025 were chosen from over 3,500 wines tasted and reviewed between December 2024 and November 2025. They include a range of wine styles and growing locations, intended to “show the brilliance and diversity of America’s winemaking talents and regions.”
Noting that “there are some spectacular wines throughout the U.S.,” Decanter’s U.S. Editor Clive Pursehouse added that “American wine is more ready than ever for an international audience.”
The wines were tasted by Decanter’s team of U.S.-based writers. That included Alexandria wine writer Sedale McCall, who tasted the 2017 Octagon and wrote that it’s “a testament to legendary winemaker Luca Paschina and the Barboursville team.”
Octagon is Barboursville’s signature wine, crafted only in years when the quality of the grapes is exceptional. The 2017 vintage is composed of 62% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot, resulting in a medium-bodied wine with silky tannins and a refined finish.
The 2017 growing season provided ideal conditions, and Paschina rated the vintage as excellent.
“The season started with an early budbreak followed by ideal gentle spring rains, which supported a good bloom for the clusters,” he said. “The early summer was warm, although never becoming hot, and the grapes ripened with ideal speed. We were able to harvest our crop at peak conditions under clear skies.”
Paschina also highlighted the key roles of Viticulturist Fernando Franco and Associate Winemaker Daniele Tessaro, along with the Zonin family who founded Barboursville in 1976. Octagon was first crafted to celebrate Barboursville’s 20th anniversary. In 2026, the winery will mark its 50th anniversary.
“Octagon, described as a Bordeaux blend, belongs to a class of wine crafted all around the globe and, therefore, highly competitive,” Paschina said. “Receiving this recognition on the verge our wine estate turning 50 next April is very invigorating.”
Several versions of Octagon are available for purchase at Barboursville—either at the winery or on its website here.
The “Most Fabled Wine in Virginia”
This is not the first time Decanter has taken notice of Barboursville and its iconic Octagon wine. In a 2002 column for the magazine, the late Michael Broadbent, longtime dean of international wine criticism, welcomed Octagon (the non-vintage 1998 edition) to the top rank of Bordeaux varietal blends worldwide when he described it as “full bodied and seriously good.”
His son, Bartholomew Broadbent, a wine producer and importer based in Richmond, recalled a 1985 visit to Barboursville when Paschina poured the father and son their first taste of Virginia wines—and they were impressed by the new-world wines made in an old-world style.
“The wines he poured at the event were better than any of the other wines we were using,” he said. “I have subsequently done tastings of Virginia wines against world-class equivalents, all of which beat the international wines, and Barboursville will always do well in such tastings.”
As a wine importer, Broadbent said Barboursville was the first American wine he asked to represent, and his company handles the winery’s national distribution outside of Virginia. He echoed his father’s praise of the Virginia wine.
“Barboursville’s Octagon is the most fabled wine in Virginia, but I have always considered their Cabernet Franc to be my favorite,” he said. “In fact, all of the Barboursville wines compete as world class against their international peers.”
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