2017 Cline Cellars Viognier Estate Grown Sonoma Coast

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 87 points

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  12/8/2021 - forceberry wrote: 87 Points

  Aged in stainless steel (2/3) and neutral oak barriques (1/3). 15% alcohol.
  
  Quite deep, slightly evolved lemon-yellow color. Very sweetly-fruited, tropical nose with lush aromas of peach, some honeyed tones, a light candied notes of gummi bears and a little bit of pear jam. The wine feels ripe, full-bodied and slightly oily on the palate with a somewhat noticeable streak of alcohol heat. There are rich flavors of apricots, somewhat pronounced white pepper tones and phenolic spice, a little bit of beeswax, light pear notes, a hint of spicy red apple and a touch of stony minerality. Balanced medium-plus acidity. The finish is quite long and rather spicy with intense flavors of peach and ripe apricots, some stony minerality, light honeyed tones, a little bit of pear compote, a hint of savory wood spice and a candied touch of gummi bears. The high alcohol makes the wine end on a rather warm note.
  
  A relatively nice and balanced Viognier. Still quite youthful with a slightly candied streak of primary fruit, but showing pretty good sense of balance and intensity of fruit. The alcohol here feels a bit too high and the fruit department slightly too ripe, but this was still more enjoyable than the 2014 vintage that we tasted earlier this year and which tasted more dull and stuffy compared to this wine. All in all a nice effort and quite true to the variety. I was pretty divided whether this was a Californian Chardonnay or a Viognier from Rhône - I thought the wine felt more Californian than French, but the wine had some obvious Viognier qualities. Ultimately I guessed Californian Chardonnay. I just should've combined my two original guesses into one! Duh.

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