Deep gold. Tropical fruits, quince, banana cream hit the olfactories. Smooth and mouth-filling body with typical lowish acidity. Very nice with poultry or fish in cream sauce. Not a long-termer. Not meant to be. Enjoy it now.
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Good aromatics. I pick up pineapple, honeysuckle and jack fruit. Maybe a little butterscotch.
On the palate, it is a tad hot; but at 14.5%, that is pretty much unavoidable [note, on second glass, I had it a bit more chilled, under 50 degrees, and the heat was much less pronounced than when wine was closer to mid 50s]. The pineapple comes out nicely, along with lychee and some granny smith apple. I don't taste much of the jack fruit from the nose. There is butterscotch or caramel on the finish (but not nearly as present as a Cali chardonnay oak monster) . Toasted hazelnuts too, maybe. Agree with previous posts about some minerality that lingers, which I like.
Quite good, and fun (read: dangerous) to drink. We had an excellent viognier recently in same price range (I think Sobon Estate); and, while this one not quite as balanced, the fact that it was close says a lot about the value.
We did not try with food but I could see scallops being perfect, along with butterfish, halibut, sea bass, etc. Maybe even a juicy pork chop with some sort of apple or mango relish. Yum.
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Previous notes hold. Lush and plush and full and of course highly aromatic. Complexity of flavor and lowish acidity make it easy to drink, so be careful. Alcohol is high, but well-integrated.
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Holiday Tasting at Gibby's (Gibby's Wine Den, Geneva IL): Deep yellow color. Notes of peach, toast, mineral and stone with floral overtones. Oily texture with a strong mineral/stone component, wax and tropical fruit. Long finish.
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Medium pale gold. Light floral nose. Creamy mouthfeel and full body. Lychee, banana cream, and white flowers on the palate. Lengthy finish with a touch of heat, but as noted by others not enough to negatively impact the experience. Acidity is customarily low, so drink in the next two years or so. All in all, an excellent wine that should please the white wine crowd and intrigue the red wine set.
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We got this bottle from the winery's wine club in September 2011 for $16.67.
Bouquet: This wine exhibits white flowers, herbs, tropical fruits, oak, and suggestions of cream on the nose.
Tasting notes: This is a very nice white that makes for a fantastic alternative to the Usual White Suspects (Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc). And thanks to the inclusion of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Vermentino, this Viognier is much more interesting than most.
How does Fess Parker get away with calling this wine Viognier when only 83% of it consists of Viognier? In America (and other parts of the world), if a bottle of wine consists of 75% or more of one varietal, it is legal to label the wine whichever varietal dominates the blend (i.e. a wine with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% consisting of, literally, 50 other varietals, can legally be called/labeled “Cabernet Sauvignon”).
If you like rich, creamy, interesting Chardonnays but need something a bit more interesting, this wine should be on your VERY short list.
Viognier tends to share a lot of the qualities that are common with Chardonnay. This Viognier is likewise rich and creamy, exhibiting tropical fruit (pineapple and mango, along with mango’s spicy pepperyness (is that a word?!?!)), along with a basket of herbs like white pepper and an assortment of garden herbs. As rich and creamy as this wine is, it was (I’m presuming) aged at least partially in oak, which likewise adds additional cream, vanilla, and spice notes. Thanks to those other Rhone Valley French (Grenache Blanc and Marsanne) and Italian (Vermentino) varietals, this wine also shows wonderful mineral elements that add a touch more of a crisp, clean, brisk, vibrancy that your typical white wine doesn’t possess.
Pairing suggestions: We drank this wine with wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon filets marinated in white miso paste. I thought the wine went very well with the salmon (though Arthur didn’t). Thanks to the other minerally, crisp varietals that are in this Viognier-based blend, I believe this wine would also pair well with just about any other seafood (especially scallops, linguini and clams, shrimp tempura, and just about any fish filet dish).
Aging potential: This wine is drinking beautifully right now, but thanks to those previously-mentioned “other” varietals, this wine should continue to age well for another three to five years. If you have this bottle in your collection right now, I think this wine is as good as it’s going to get (i.e. it’s at peak maturity). Put your bottle in the fridge and drink it while the weather is warm and the food is fresh.
Fess Parker has been one of our favorite viognier's for years. Wonderful floral nose with hints of honey & peach. Smooth tastes of honey, peach & a bit of butter.
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We have never had a mediocre wine from Fess, all have been very good or better. This one had pear, pineapple and lychee nut tastes. Believe they oak their Viognier, but we did not get a lot of buttery and oak flavor, which for us would have taken it to Outstanding. We did think this aged appropriately (as few whites do), but we probably liked the previous bottles, opened in past years, a click better- they were a tad less "mellow". We used some of our awesome leftover turkey to make a turkey and wild rice casserole (healthy and to die for tastes), and this was a perfect pairing. We give this wine high marks for its balance and the acidity makes it a very food-friendly wine - better with food than to be sipped as a cocktail. Drink now, do not hold.
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Popped and poured for our chili and biscuit dinner. At 14.5% alc this is a robust and substantial wine that matches well with the meat chili. An apple and pear mid-palate works well with a mild-spice meal. Nice aroma of pear, apple, and hints of citrus fruit. A ripe and very expressive white from cali.
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11/11/2013 - iByron wrote: 88 Points
Deep gold. Tropical fruits, quince, banana cream hit the olfactories. Smooth and mouth-filling body with typical lowish acidity. Very nice with poultry or fish in cream sauce. Not a long-termer. Not meant to be. Enjoy it now.
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4/4/2013 - Apark101 wrote: 87 Points
Good aromatics. I pick up pineapple, honeysuckle and jack fruit. Maybe a little butterscotch.
On the palate, it is a tad hot; but at 14.5%, that is pretty much unavoidable [note, on second glass, I had it a bit more chilled, under 50 degrees, and the heat was much less pronounced than when wine was closer to mid 50s]. The pineapple comes out nicely, along with lychee and some granny smith apple. I don't taste much of the jack fruit from the nose. There is butterscotch or caramel on the finish (but not nearly as present as a Cali chardonnay oak monster) . Toasted hazelnuts too, maybe. Agree with previous posts about some minerality that lingers, which I like.
Quite good, and fun (read: dangerous) to drink. We had an excellent viognier recently in same price range (I think Sobon Estate); and, while this one not quite as balanced, the fact that it was close says a lot about the value.
We did not try with food but I could see scallops being perfect, along with butterfish, halibut, sea bass, etc. Maybe even a juicy pork chop with some sort of apple or mango relish. Yum.
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12/23/2012 - iByron wrote: 88 Points
Previous notes hold. Lush and plush and full and of course highly aromatic. Complexity of flavor and lowish acidity make it easy to drink, so be careful. Alcohol is high, but well-integrated.
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12/18/2012 - rbergy Likes this wine: 88 Points
fleshy fruit, hard mineral character, sumac, tough wine to match with food
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12/8/2012 - bbcc66 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Consistent with previous note. A mineral taste as it finished.
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12/6/2012 - AllRed wrote: 89 Points
Holiday Tasting at Gibby's (Gibby's Wine Den, Geneva IL): Deep yellow color. Notes of peach, toast, mineral and stone with floral overtones. Oily texture with a strong mineral/stone component, wax and tropical fruit. Long finish.
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12/3/2012 - iByron wrote: 88 Points
Medium pale gold. Light floral nose. Creamy mouthfeel and full body.
Lychee, banana cream, and white flowers on the palate. Lengthy finish with a touch of heat, but as noted by others not enough to negatively impact the experience. Acidity is customarily low, so drink in the next two years or so. All in all, an excellent wine that should please the white wine crowd and intrigue the red wine set.
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11/23/2012 - PinotPaul wrote: 87 Points
Delicate floral nose. Very enjoyable.
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8/22/2012 - Weston3220 Likes this wine: 88 Points
med+ Intensity, youthful
Richmond, Melon, poswerdery Viognier nose
Full Body, med+ Acidity, med+ Intensity, med+ Finish
Citrusy Melon, richness from Oak [good],
conc: Touch Hot Finish but does not distract from the wine, good with food which Lifts the wine
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8/17/2012 - Nataliego wrote: 89 Points
Very creamy and buttery for a viognier. Would have thought chard. But surprisingly yummy.
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8/10/2012 - rbergy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Floral and orange peel on nose, lychee, apricot, nutmeg, almond paste on finish
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8/5/2012 - DaveZack wrote: 90 Points
We got this bottle from the winery's wine club in September 2011 for $16.67.
Bouquet: This wine exhibits white flowers, herbs, tropical fruits, oak, and suggestions of cream on the nose.
Tasting notes: This is a very nice white that makes for a fantastic alternative to the Usual White Suspects (Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc). And thanks to the inclusion of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, and Vermentino, this Viognier is much more interesting than most.
How does Fess Parker get away with calling this wine Viognier when only 83% of it consists of Viognier? In America (and other parts of the world), if a bottle of wine consists of 75% or more of one varietal, it is legal to label the wine whichever varietal dominates the blend (i.e. a wine with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% consisting of, literally, 50 other varietals, can legally be called/labeled “Cabernet Sauvignon”).
If you like rich, creamy, interesting Chardonnays but need something a bit more interesting, this wine should be on your VERY short list.
Viognier tends to share a lot of the qualities that are common with Chardonnay. This Viognier is likewise rich and creamy, exhibiting tropical fruit (pineapple and mango, along with mango’s spicy pepperyness (is that a word?!?!)), along with a basket of herbs like white pepper and an assortment of garden herbs. As rich and creamy as this wine is, it was (I’m presuming) aged at least partially in oak, which likewise adds additional cream, vanilla, and spice notes. Thanks to those other Rhone Valley French (Grenache Blanc and Marsanne) and Italian (Vermentino) varietals, this wine also shows wonderful mineral elements that add a touch more of a crisp, clean, brisk, vibrancy that your typical white wine doesn’t possess.
Pairing suggestions: We drank this wine with wild Alaskan Sockeye salmon filets marinated in white miso paste. I thought the wine went very well with the salmon (though Arthur didn’t). Thanks to the other minerally, crisp varietals that are in this Viognier-based blend, I believe this wine would also pair well with just about any other seafood (especially scallops, linguini and clams, shrimp tempura, and just about any fish filet dish).
Aging potential: This wine is drinking beautifully right now, but thanks to those previously-mentioned “other” varietals, this wine should continue to age well for another three to five years. If you have this bottle in your collection right now, I think this wine is as good as it’s going to get (i.e. it’s at peak maturity). Put your bottle in the fridge and drink it while the weather is warm and the food is fresh.
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4/19/2012 - rbergy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Spicy, rich tropical fruit, layers of flavor, pina colada? w/o that chard over the topness
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3/20/2012 - omgkmon wrote: 86 Points
Apple & honey, vanilla, and a touch of oak. We enjoyed it.
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3/10/2012 - bbcc66 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Fess Parker has been one of our favorite viognier's for years. Wonderful floral nose with hints of honey & peach. Smooth tastes of honey, peach & a bit of butter.
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3/4/2012 - KSWinegeek wrote: 88 Points
Little touch of sweetness on the attack.
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11/28/2011 - Z1nnfull wrote: 89 Points
We have never had a mediocre wine from Fess, all have been very good or better. This one had pear, pineapple and lychee nut tastes. Believe they oak their Viognier, but we did not get a lot of buttery and oak flavor, which for us would have taken it to Outstanding. We did think this aged appropriately (as few whites do), but we probably liked the previous bottles, opened in past years, a click better- they were a tad less "mellow". We used some of our awesome leftover turkey to make a turkey and wild rice casserole (healthy and to die for tastes), and this was a perfect pairing. We give this wine high marks for its balance and the acidity makes it a very food-friendly wine - better with food than to be sipped as a cocktail. Drink now, do not hold.
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12/11/2010 - winetennis wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured for our chili and biscuit dinner. At 14.5% alc this is a robust and substantial wine that matches well with the meat chili. An apple and pear mid-palate works well with a mild-spice meal. Nice aroma of pear, apple, and hints of citrus fruit. A ripe and very expressive white from cali.
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