Swordfern Wine Tasting #5: Viognier

We had eleven people blindly tasting Viognier, including Lana and Lisa from http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/twoandahalfglasses/. This time, we had three bottles from Washington and one from Condrieu, in the Northern Rhone region of France. Viognier is the most expensive white wine grape per ton in Washington, so these bottles were fairly expensive.

• 2006 Rulo Viognier

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  This was the wine of the night (and also the cheapest of our four Viogniers). Beautiful nose of sweet, canned peaches. Those peaches carried through on the palate, accompanied by the perfect amount of acidity that provided wonderful lift to the fruit. Just a hint of spicy gingersnap on the finish to conclude this remarkable Viognier.

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• 2005 E. Guigal Condrieu

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

  This was the second most popular Viognier of the four we tasted (and by far the most expensive). I got loads of butterscotch on the nose, with some pears peeking through as well. On the palate, a nice, weighty, creamy mouthfeel with low acidity and a little heat on the finish. This was a nice bottle, but for my palate, there's too much oak and MLF going on here, and it masks the inherent loveliness of the Viognier. Too reminiscent of $20 bottles of California chardonnay. I definitely didn't get any of the floral notes that other tasters report, and I would have liked more acidity for sure. Still, this was the favorite of 4 out of our 11 tasters; a good reminder that palates are like snowflakes.

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• 2007 Mark Ryan Viognier Columbia Valley

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Of the four viogniers we tasted, only one of eleven tasters liked this the best (and it was the second-most expensive). For me, this had a fairly muted nose of pears and hints of honey. On the palate, some nice stone fruit and a slightly hot, green-appley finish. Acidity was below-average. This was unremarkable, and at this price point ($28), I would pass.

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• 2007 Dusted Valley Vintners Viognier

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  Of the four viogniers we tasted, this was the favorite of just one of our eleven tasters. That said, many people picked it as their second choice, so this was not an unpopular bottle. Big, pretty nose of peaches and flowers. On the palate, loads of zingy acidity that ventures into a tartness that (for me) was mildly unpleasant. Plenty of fruit on the palate as well. I have another bottle of this, and I am going to let it sit for 9-12 months and see if the acidity settles down a bit.

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All told, I really enjoyed this tasting. Viognier makes delicious wines in Washington, and my palate definitely favors the under-oaked, malic versions. I was expecting more floral notes on the nose and really only got them on the Dusted Valley. The stone fruit aromas, however, were big and absolutely gorgeous. Also, this was the first of our five tastings to date where the wine of the night was also the least expensive. I will definitely try to snag some more of the 2006 Rulo and will also explore some of their other wines.

Lisa won the matching game and the prize, which was a split of E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône.