2013 Fess Parker Viognier

Community Tasting Notes (10) Avg Score: 87.6 points

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  3/22/2017 - DaveZack Likes this wine: 91 Points

  We received this bottle from Fess’ wine club in September, 2014, which consists of 97% Viognier and 3% Grenache Blanc, with 59% of the grapes being sourced from Camp 4 Vineyard and 41% from Rodney’s Vineyard on/near Fess’ winery in Santa Ynez Valley. One of the first things I detected in/from the flavor profile were the earthy/soil elements (both schist and granite, which might coordinate with the Camp 4 and/or Rodney vineyards). This wine has a rich and creamy and oaky bouquet.
  This (almost) white blend has a fabulous complexity and depth of flavors profile. The fruit profile is mostly stone-pitted fruits like peach, lychee, and apricot, along with tropical fruits like mango, papaya, and pineapple. There’s also a subtle dried herb element, along with white pepper. Next “up to the plate” is the oak element, which adds richness and creaminess, along with an extremely subtle butterscotch element. Typical for the two Rhone varietals in this bottle, the Viognier is rich, creamy, and deeply-textured/flavored, while the Grenache Blanc adds a food-friendly crispness, acidity, and zippiness. This wine is rich, creamy, crisp, zippy, complexly flavored, slightly herbal, and very food-friendly. Thanks to the structural elements that both varietals contribute (acidity and tannins), this wine is VERY food-friendly and is drinking beautifully right now but has the structural “legs” to continue to age and mature gracefully for another 2-4 years. The wine has a very elegant and palate coating/cleansing finish that lingers nicely in the mouth and/or on the palate.
  I paired this beauty with one of my “Usual White (protein) Suspects,” baked chicken thighs spiced with CostCo’s “Simply Asia” spice blend. This delicious wine paired perfectly with the chicken thighs and would also pair well with just about any/all every other chicken dishes, along with medium-bodied fish dishes, as well as practically any/all scallop dishes.
  This wine has fantastic depth/layers-of-flavors and complexity, along with food-friendly structural elements, in addition to both a rich/creamy and crisp/tannic/acidic zippiness that makes this wine flavorfully and structurally complex and sophisticated. It’s delicious and food-friendly, as well as very complexly structured and flavored. If you like “earthy,” rich/creamy, herbal, and deeply/complexly-flavored and food-friendly whites, this wine is almost “up your alley,” especially if you like/enjoy/appreciate Rhone varietals like Viognier and Grenache Blanc.

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  3/11/2017 - ddeckerdds wrote: 82 Points

  Just OK. Only paid 12 bucks at Ralphs. . I was expecting a lot more out of the VIognier. . Won't buy it again because there's too many other great wines at that price point.

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  11/7/2016 - dhammer53 wrote: 89 Points

  Drank this off a restaurant wine list in Wilmington NC. When you recognize a label and grape you know, you pull the trigger. A pleasant wine. Light straw color. Tasty. Drank with various fish dinners with non-geek friends. Easy drinking. $45 on the list. A good house wine if you're paying retail at the store.

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  12/19/2015 - bbcc66 wrote: flawed

  Decanted for 1/2 hr. I've had many earlier vintages of this wine and loved them. This bottle had little nose, compared to a usually vibrant fruity nose. It was pretty much tasteless, compared to a bad taste. I hope it was flawed because I'd grade it a 69.

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  8/29/2015 - lachord Likes this wine: 89 Points

  Clean with hints of stone fruits.

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