Impressive how French this California viognier presents. Youthful and floral without getting into that old-lady perfume thing. Love the '11 vintage for white wines like this.
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WineFest in Toronto (Mike Grammer); 7/10/2016-7/12/2016 (Mike Grammer's (parents home) in Toronto): After a bunch of Rhone Viognier, I wondered how this would show. Pretty much exactly the same. I was both surprised and not surprised given the winery. A very floral nose, not over blown with some orange peel/oil. It is tight on the palate but with some swirling it open up and shows good complexity. Lots of minerals, and an almost German Riesling Trocken quality. Slight heat on the finish may be the only sign of being from CA. Still, this is outstanding.
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This is wine is a clear medium gold color with a pale rim and some decent viscosity.
The nose is clean, youthful, and consists of lychee, nectarine, apricot, pear and a highly perfumed nose of honeysuckle, jasmine, and rose. There is also a slight herbaceous quality to this - maybe some light asparagus.
The wine is dry with medium acidity, medium plus alcohol, and a round. rich, and glycolic mouthfeel. The palate is of medium plus to full intensity and consist of the lychee, stone fruits, and perfume notes noted above. The herbaceous note is not prominent on the palate. The wine has a long, smooth finish.
I wanted to like this wine more than I did. It has the classic full-bodied, round, glycerine mouthfeel, the lower acidity, and the highly fragrant nose; however, the herbaceous note on the nose really ruins this wine for me. I like my Viogniers to be a rich and creamy bouquet of fruit and flowers - I don't want to be reminded of a Sauvignon Blanc or a Gruner Veltliner with my Viognier. Maybe this was harvested a little on the sooner side?
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Golden straw color. Unexpectedly light oak on nose, full of mango then later lemongrass. Mouthfeel is a touch metallic on initial, but evenly coats the mouth. A very clean interpretation of Viognier, could be mistaken for California Pinot Grigio. Nice, refreshing, but not as special as the Pinot Noirs. I taste no reason to hold onto this much longer than the next year, drink up.
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Pretty aromatic profile, displaying ripe pear and stone fruit, honeyed tones and a veritable bouquet of flowers- Lily, white flowers, chamomile, rose petal and lavender all on display. A bit of a vanilla yogurt character is notable also, and a certain river-bed minerality. Any oak treatment is well integrated. On the palate, this is rich and quite lush, with ripe and honeyed pear and golden delicious apple notes leading the way, supported again by vanilla yogurt and a certain soapiness? Finish is somewhat hollow. Acidity is only moderate, but this manages to not come across as too heavy. Palate-coating texture, and high alcohol is discernible, but not problematic. Interesting.
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11/5/2016 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Impressive how French this California viognier presents. Youthful and floral without getting into that old-lady perfume thing. Love the '11 vintage for white wines like this.
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7/10/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
WineFest in Toronto (Mike Grammer); 7/10/2016-7/12/2016 (Mike Grammer's (parents home) in Toronto): After a bunch of Rhone Viognier, I wondered how this would show. Pretty much exactly the same. I was both surprised and not surprised given the winery. A very floral nose, not over blown with some orange peel/oil. It is tight on the palate but with some swirling it open up and shows good complexity. Lots of minerals, and an almost German Riesling Trocken quality. Slight heat on the finish may be the only sign of being from CA. Still, this is outstanding.
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8/21/2014 - Reblin Likes this wine: 90 Points
A little sweeter than expected, but very good. Had a definite vanilla note, as well as peach and apricot.
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3/23/2014 - slippytoad Likes this wine: 90 Points
I liked it the most out of the group. Nice tang to it, unlike a typical chard or even other viogniers.
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3/9/2014 - slippytoad Likes this wine: 90 Points
Full bodied white but not like a chardonnay. Quite fun, different and a talking point.
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12/14/2013 - slippytoad wrote: 89 Points
A tad overpriced perhaps but fairly balanced and layered.
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11/21/2013 - theglobalvine Likes this wine: 86 Points
This is wine is a clear medium gold color with a pale rim and some decent viscosity.
The nose is clean, youthful, and consists of lychee, nectarine, apricot, pear and a highly perfumed nose of honeysuckle, jasmine, and rose. There is also a slight herbaceous quality to this - maybe some light asparagus.
The wine is dry with medium acidity, medium plus alcohol, and a round. rich, and glycolic mouthfeel. The palate is of medium plus to full intensity and consist of the lychee, stone fruits, and perfume notes noted above. The herbaceous note is not prominent on the palate. The wine has a long, smooth finish.
I wanted to like this wine more than I did. It has the classic full-bodied, round, glycerine mouthfeel, the lower acidity, and the highly fragrant nose; however, the herbaceous note on the nose really ruins this wine for me. I like my Viogniers to be a rich and creamy bouquet of fruit and flowers - I don't want to be reminded of a Sauvignon Blanc or a Gruner Veltliner with my Viognier. Maybe this was harvested a little on the sooner side?
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10/15/2013 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 91 Points
Very light yellow color; aromatic, floral, tart pear nose; floral, tart pear palate with grip; medium-plus finish 91+ points
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9/1/2013 - JasonG Likes this wine: 87 Points
Golden straw color. Unexpectedly light oak on nose, full of mango then later lemongrass. Mouthfeel is a touch metallic on initial, but evenly coats the mouth. A very clean interpretation of Viognier, could be mistaken for California Pinot Grigio. Nice, refreshing, but not as special as the Pinot Noirs. I taste no reason to hold onto this much longer than the next year, drink up.
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8/19/2013 - Italiana wrote: 88 Points
Sweeter than I expected from this grape.
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3/16/2013 - braisedlambshank wrote: 88 Points
Pretty aromatic profile, displaying ripe pear and stone fruit, honeyed tones and a veritable bouquet of flowers- Lily, white flowers, chamomile, rose petal and lavender all on display. A bit of a vanilla yogurt character is notable also, and a certain river-bed minerality. Any oak treatment is well integrated. On the palate, this is rich and quite lush, with ripe and honeyed pear and golden delicious apple notes leading the way, supported again by vanilla yogurt and a certain soapiness? Finish is somewhat hollow. Acidity is only moderate, but this manages to not come across as too heavy. Palate-coating texture, and high alcohol is discernible, but not problematic. Interesting.
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