Viognier

Le Vieux Pin Viognier-Roussanne 2009

June 18, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

My recent trip to the Okanagan has inspired me to give a few more B.C. bottles a fair shake. This white blend from Le Vieux Pin, made from Rhone Valley varieties and part of their new Rhone ranger influenced program, is the best example of these grapes that I have tasted from B.C.

I appreciate how Le Vieux Pin prints considerable detail on their label, including soil type, tons per acre, suggested ageing, and even sub-regions. So far there are no legally established sub-appellations in the Okanagan Valley and so it is basically impossible to know where the fruit used in a particular wine has come from if the winery does not disclose that information. Very few wineries are even using all estate fruit or all fruit grown in the sub-region in which the winery is located.

While Le Vieux Pin does use fruit from around the valley, I applaud their transparency in labeling exactly where it came from. In this case, that means the Black Sage Bench, an area with more moderate sunlight than its neighbour the Golden Mile. The soils here are sandy, like the majority of soils in the Okanagan, and as such drain pretty quickly. This means irrigation is needed in most places, and the wines tend to be pretty fruity.

This is, true to its place, a fruity wine. It captures the great aromatics of Viognier and the voluptuous texture of Roussanne and offers good depth and balance. The fruit here is much higher quality than normal for these varieties, probably because of the lower cropping, and I thought this was an excellent example and shows great potential for the future of the Rhone program at Le Vieux Pin.

Very Good
$35 at the Winery

Filed Under: $30-$40, BC Wine, Canadian Wine, Rousanne, Very Good, Viognier

Sadie Family Wines Palladius 2006

March 14, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

“100 points … perfect wine!” That’s what I might say about Eben Sadie’s Palladius were I the caricature of wine criticism that is James Suckling. But Sadie is decidedly anything but patina – his wines are made with minimal interference, almost to the level of a ‘natual wine’ producer. I found this revelation somewhat shocking given what I tasted a couple weekends ago: Sadie’s wines are clean, modern and immediately delicious. What makes them truly excel is the level of complexity, balance and elegance they achieve given the winemaking techniques.

Terroir as Wine Making Philosophy

South Africa is a warm climate, which for Mr. Sadie means it is better suited to blending than to single varietal wines. He also believes that South Africa’s soils are mostly too geologically old to produce good wine, and so he sought out the vineyards with the youngest geology in order to make his wine.

Sadie is also an extreme minimalist. He focuses on doing as little to his grapes as possible. He farms biodynamically, harvests by hand, ferments in neutral old wood or cement, does not add enzymes or commercial yeasts and even presses his grapes with a hand operated basket press. This is remarkably similar to the natural wine philosophy I discussed in my previous post. The most Sadie does beyond this is to control the fermentation temperatures with electricity. This is understandable given the climate in which he works – as I contended at the Natural Wine tasting, only some climates are conducive to completely neutral treatment of a wine. That said, Eben Sadie is making wines of such a level of quality that most ‘natural wine’ makers can right now only dream of making.

Burgundian Sophistication and South African Terroir

Sadie’s Palladius is a masterpiece of white wine making. A blend of several grapes, the predominant mix is one of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Grenache Blanc. That a marriage of loire and rhone white varieties could be so successful is more a testament to Sadie’s masterful touch than to South Africa in particular.

This is a wine that drinks with the level of elegance and sophistication of Grand Cru white Burgundy, but with a flavour profile that is decidedly singular. The oak qualities in this wine are perfectly integrated with the strange marriage of orchard and citrus fruits that seem to coincide with this unique blending of grapes. This is the sort of wine with a subtlety that makes you love it while drinking but not realize its greatness until you juxtapose it with something you previously thought was great. That such great wines can seem faulty in the presence of Sadie’s creation is a testament to how amazing the wine actually is.

So, while I am certainly no James Suckling, I can say that Eben Sadie’s Palladius is amongst the best white wines I have ever tasted. It is a lucky individual whose palate experiences its pure and almost perfect expression of a blend that could probably be made nowhere else.

Excellent+
$90 at Everything Wine (purchased for $45 on sale)

Filed Under: $60+, Chenin Blanc, Excellent, Grenache Blanc, South African Wine, Viognier

Spotlight on Languedoc-Roussillon: La Peira Deusyls 2005

January 10, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

In my last write up of La Peira I intimated that this winery was one of the stars of the Languedoc, but deferred my reasons for saying so. No longer. It is this wine, which is perhaps the best white I’ve had from the Languedoc and one of the most interesting I’ve had out of France, that convinced me of La Peira’s star status.

The Deusyls is made in a manner that sees some semi-oxidation that produces something unlike most anything else I’ve tasted. According to the winery, the oxidation occurs naturally in the fermentation process and is simply a by-product of grapes that easily oxidize (the wine is made from 65% Viognier and 35% Roussanne). However, it could also be due to the Sauternes-like fermentation methods used by La Peira wine maker Jeremie Depierre. The level of oxidation will vary from year to year and in some years may not be detectable. It will also likely vary with age. I simply do not have enough vintages to do a true comparison – but something fascinatingly compelling is going on here.

This is stunning wine. The nose has extremely intense aromas of honey and figs that suggest an intensity and richness almost as strong as Pedro Ximenez sherry. The palate, however, flips your expectations upside down being both extremely dry and semi-oxidized but also rich, structured and long. Honey and nuts predominate the palate, but there are also a bevy of indescribable flavours that make this extremely interesting. This is far more balanced than any other oxidized white I’ve tasted, including the wines of Jacques Puffeney from the Jura. Despite the level of intrigue, the wine is eminently quaffable and I highly recommend drinking it with Charcuterie.

A sine qua non wine for wine geeks and adventurous wine lovers. La Peira produced only about 80 cases of this wine. We are lucky to have a few in Vancouver.

Excellent to Excellent+
$50 at Marquis Wine Cellars

Filed Under: $40-$60, Excellent, French Wine, Languedoc-Roussillon, Rousanne, Viognier

Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Pax Venus 2007

September 14, 2010 By Shea 2 Comments

Leave it to the perfectionists to make the better examples of California Rhone Whites. Pax, a highly respected syrah producer from Northern California, was once headed by the famed wine maker Pax Mahl. Since 2007, Pax the man left Pax the winery to start his own project Wind Gap. Before this departure, however, Mr. Mahl managed to produce some of the most consistently great examples of Rhone style wines in the United States. Unfortunately, Mr. Mahl left before he could complete overseeing the 2007 vintage.

Soils, Site and Vinification

Demanding a cooler climate, the Roussanne that comprised 74% of this wine was grown in the Bennet Valley AVA in Southern Sonoma. Bennet Valley has similar soils to Sonoma Valley but is far cooler due to a “wind gap” close by that allows the marine breeze from the coast to penetrate the valley. The remaining 26% Viognier found its way from a few small vineyards in the Sonoma Coast AVA.

Lead winemaker Tyler Thomas, who blended but did not produce this vintage, blended the two grapes after they fermented separately in neutral French Oak and concrete eggs, which add roundness to the wine without the flavour influence of oak.

A Wine Taking the Middle Path

There is something about certain Rhone white varieties that, when grown poorly or in the wrong soils, epitomize cheap overly fruity white wine to me. Sometimes it can be very hard for Viognier to excel beyond its heady aromas of pear and flowers, which can often come across as overly candied or blowsy.

This wine has none of the flaws listed above, but it does have something peculiar in its flavour profile that, personally, turned me off somewhat from the wine. It failed to break the flavour mould to move from good to great. That said, this is an extremely well made wine.

The nose gave pear and honey and the Viognier characteristics dominated here. This is deeper and more fully articulated than the cheap over-cropped versions, but still lacks excitement. The wine is rich and honeyed but does not quite have the upfront delicious opulence of the Alban or the delicate and highly aromatic expression of the other Northern Rhone whites I profiled.

Instead, this wine sits somewhere in the middle and does not quite reach the heights of either. This is by no means a bad wine, but given Pax’s pedigree, I must admit my disappointment. With this being Mr. Thomas’ first vintage at Pax, perhaps we can expect a few hiccups and improvement to come. 270 cases.

Very Good
$55 at Dean & Deluca in St. Helena

Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Rhone Valley White Wine, Rousanne, Very Good, Viognier

Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Alban Vineyards ‘Alban Estate’ Viognier 2006 and 2007

September 6, 2010 By Shea 1 Comment

Passionate Obsession

Passionate obsession is the wont of both madmen and visionaries. In the case of Viognier, the opulent and sometimes magnificent grape native to the Northern Rhone, passionate obsession may have saved it from extinction.

In 1989, as the world’s Viognier plantings had dwindled to a mere 50 acres, a farmer from California decided to establish an estate in Central California’s Edna Valley focusing on Rhone varieties. These included Grenache, Syrah, Rousanne and Viognier. Almost singlehandedly doubling the world’s Viognier plantings, John Alban was also responsible for making the grape into an international force, once again. By 1997 Condrieu had 250 acres planted and Viognier’s popularity had reached a new high.

California’s Cooler Side

California’s Central Coast is often misunderstood. Most associate California with heat – but ironically it is California’s northern wine regions that see the most heat and sun. This is due to a peculiarity with the orientation of the valleys in which grapes tend to be grown: Napa and Sonoma valley sit on a north-south axis. In central California, the various valleys tend to be oriented on an east-west axis, meaning that the cool air and damp fog from the Pacific Ocean have easy access to inland vineyards.

Alban’s vineyards sit in the Edna Valley, an AVA roughly halfway between San Francisco and L.A. The Edna Valley is also one of the dampest and coolest regions in California, with summer mean temperatures hitting a mere 17-18 degrees Celsius. The dampness also makes the Valley prone to fungus – an unfortunate reality when growing the fungus-prone Viognier grape.

All the more surprising it is, then, that Alban is able to coax his vines to ripeness levels that would simply produce flabby and jammy wines in hotter regions.

A Perfect Opulence

Alban Vineyards have now attained cult status, and the wines are produced in such small quantities that it is near impossible to get them. Luckily for us in Vancouver, Marquis has a relationship with Alban and manages to bring in some of his whites for the general public, including his legendary Estate Viognier.

Tasting both the 2006 and 2007 vintages of this wine I both understand its legendary status and marvel at how the wines best even some of the great examples from Condrieu itself. Grown in the region’s marine-influenced carbonate-infused soils, these wines are about as luscious as is biologically possible for any white grape.

The 2007 poured a golden-hued liquid almost as deep yellow as a Sauternes. The aromas lift explosively out of the glass: honey, pear, candied tangerine. The lushness of the wine floods the palate like gossamer – evocative hints of honey, pear, brioche as rich and flavourful as a dessert wine but as dry and impressively balanced as a great Chardonnay. At almost 16% ABV, you would barely realize this if it weren’t for the wine’s sheer volume and weight, which is yet also effortless to consume. Astounding.

Excellent to Excellent+
$70 at Marquis Wine Cellars

The 2006 did show some signs of age, but its slightly more boozy character corresponds with its higher 16.2% ABV. Nonetheless, the wine is soft and deft – honey, pear, apricots and, as a welcome surprise, tremendous minerality. As with the 2007, this is a wine of superbly explosive flavour married with balance and length. Wildflowers dipped in ambrosia.

Excellent
$60 at Marquis Wine Cellars

Both of these wines are perfectly opulent and are simply some of the most pleasurable wines I’ve ever consumed. An utter contrast to the many insipid Viogniers being grown throughout the world and an emblem not only of what is possible in the New World, but also of how New World verve can save greatness from obscurity.

Filed Under: $60+, Californian Wine, Excellent, Rhone Valley White Wine, Viognier

Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Pierre Gaillard Condrieu 2005

July 12, 2010 By Shea Leave a Comment

One of the trends in Condrieu over the last few decades has been a move from a fresh steel fermented style that often saw arrested malo-lactic fermentation to a heavier oak fermented and barrel aged style with full malo. For the not so geekily inclined, this is equivalent to a move from making freshly squeezed juice to milkshakes. However, in this case the move occurred because a number of top growers realized that Viognier – the raw materials – was much better when vinified in a heavier and denser way. Some argue that the prevalence of aging in new oak has come to hide the multiple terroirs of Condrieu, but the grower/producers answer to that is a now sustained attempt to reduce the amount of new oak while maintaining a solid oak influenced backbone. It is thus on the vinification side of things that Condrieu is now coming into its own and learning how to express its terroir.

Gaillard is one of the modernist producers who really pushed to use oak. He began in 1995 with 2.5 hectares on one plot and now works four vineyard sites, most of which have granite soils. Interestingly, the southern part of Condrieu – where Gaillard grows most of his vines – overlaps with St. Joseph and so it is possible to produce both white Viognier wines labeled Condrieu and red Syrah based wines labeled St. Joseph from the same vineyard sites. However, whereas Gaillard produces 4 different St. Joseph cuvees, he only makes a single dry Condrieu, labeled simply by the region.

In the vineyards, Gaillard looks for near-overripeness in his grapes, and in the summer he strips leaves and excess vegetation so that the grapes don’t get quite that far. Lately, Gaillard has withdrawn from the use of new oak, even though he was one of the first to use it.

The wine itself is both a year older and is lighter in colour than the Villard I just reviewed. The nose is also duller and less expressive, with dill, stone, lemon and peach, though all in a more restrained manner than the Villard. Peaches, cream and dill come forward on the palate, which is not as long as the Villard but is perhaps a bit more balanced. This is ultimately a very different wine from the Villard, being more contemplative and less opulent, but also very successful with food (I paired it with a lobster, pea, lemon and white truffle risotto). I do, however, think that the Villard is superior in both structure and expressivity, perhaps providing ammunition that Viognier should be consumed young.

Very Good+
$60 at Marquis

Filed Under: $60+, French Wine, Rhone Valley White Wine, Very Good, Viognier

Spotlight on Rhone Valley White Wine: Francois Villard “Les Terrasses du Palat” Condrieu 2006

July 9, 2010 By Shea Leave a Comment

Sometimes one sibling can overshadow another, leaving it underappreciated. Oftentimes fame outweighs any appreciation of subtlety and personality. In the world of wine this is all too common an occurrence, even as the lesser known can become somewhat of a cult itself. Neither fame nor underground notoriety has christened the white wines of the Rhone Valley, and so it is even more surprising that the wines have grown in popularity over the years.

Flash back to 1971 and you would find that only about 12 hectares (30 acres) of Viognier were planted in the entire Rhone Valley, including the Condrieu sub-appellation. That’s barely enough grapes to make 2500 bottles, a mere pittance even for a single producer. By 2005, however, Condrieu expanded to 135 hectares – a far cry from 30 years prior. Part of the reason for this is the extreme steepness of the slopes, which makes planting and tending the vines not particularly cost-effective, and also the difficulty the vines have penetrating the topsoil, which, if they don’t do, relegates them to producing bloated fruit. The deepness of the vines is essential for great Viognier.

Unlike all the plantings in the new world, Condrieu is now populated with mostly old-vine pre-clone material, which for the non-geeky essentially means vines that often produce grapes with more character and depth. The other side of this were the crappy replantings in the 1980s where many producers started cropping their vines at yields far too high to produce anything of interest. As with any region, Condrieu is all about the growers and producers who do it right.

Condrieu is also the perfect example of why wine growers and makers need to treat their varities right. In the 1990’s it was common for producers to make wines in a ‘lighter and fresher’ style, much like Sauvignon Blanc. This is not the nature of Viognier, the best expressions of which are rich, dense and sensuously textured. Fermenting the wine at low temperatures became the norm and this killed the character and balance in the wines. Why go for up front zing when you can get density and an endless finish? That’s what trends can do.

Francois Villard is a new wave kind of Condrieu producer. He generally lets his grapes get to the point of a certain percentage of noble rot before vinifying and always uses oak. The Terrasses du Palate Condrieu has 20% new and 80% used oak and sees about 3-5% noble rot. These are overt wines, almost in the style of new world examples like that of John Alban from Paso Robles. The fact that Villard learned wine making on his own from books and trial and error? Well, that’s just a bonus.

The wine itself pours a lovely burnt yellow, looking much like an aged Riesling. On the nose I got apricot, honeysuckle, peach and toasted coconut. The palate is glycerous, rich and honeyed. Peach notes develop quickly, but the wine is also very long and deep in flavour. It is also elegant for such a rich wine, but in the end this is not a wine about tightness, clarity or precision. Rather, this is a wine about luscious texture, expressivity and exotic richness. And, the glycerous palate does nothing to interfere with the intense, flowered, wafting scents that speak purely of sensuous pleasure. This truly is a great wine wine and is a good indication of how excited I am about this spotlight.

Excellent
$60 at Marquis Wine Cellars

Filed Under: $60+, Excellent, French Wine, Rhone Valley White Wine, Viognier