A Wine By Any Other Name. . .

Growing up Italian in Brooklyn with the name Roland wasn’t easy. More often than not, I showed up as “Ronald” on school rosters and programs. Teasing rhymes and limericks only added to the frustration. Moreover, lacking the knightly build of my namesake, the nephew of Charlemagne, whose heroic exploits are celebrated in the Song of Roland, made retreat the best self-defense. But smart parenting and a strong ego got me through.

Viognier (vee-ohn-yay) seems to share similar identity problems. The name of this varietal may not be the easiest to pronounce. Indeed, it’s often confused with Vouvray, the Chenin Blanc based wine from the Loire. And the fact that the vine is one of the poorest yielding whites makes the wine relatively scarce, rather expensive, and difficult to find. In fact, it took two of us going to seven stores to come up with ten bottles for our tasting. Nevertheless, a skillful winemaker can bring out Viognier’s seductive nose of ripe apricots, peaches, and spring blossoms and develop its contrapuntal flavor that’s at first fruity but then dry and make it worth the search.

The grape’s most prestigious embodiment is in the northern Rhone appellation of Condrieu, which requires 100% Viognier. Condrieu and its enclave Chateau-Grillet produce some extraordinary wines. Because the grape yields are quite low, the wines are rare and sought after by collectors. Consequently, they fetch relatively high prices for a dry white. These wines are at their best two to three years after harvest, while their fragrance and acidity are at their prime. Among the best producers are Gilles Barge, Delas, Gerin, Guigal, Chateau du Rozay, and Vernay. Viognier is also found in the Cote-Rotie appellation of the northern Rhone, where it is exploited for its fragrance in Syrah-based blends.

Elsewhere in France, Viognier has recently become somewhat popular in the Languedoc-Roussillon, where it is often bottled as a varietal and blended with other grapes more indigenous to the region like Roussanne and Grenache Blanc.

Here in the United States, Viognier became quite fashionable in the early 1990s, when it was brought to our attention by the Californian Rhone Rangers. While some of them may favor a highly alcoholic style, others have begun to produce wines with a lot of finesse that display the grape’s aromas and flavors at their best. Some of the best-known producers are Arrowood, Foxen, Calera, and Phelps.

Other places where the varietal can be found enjoying some success are Australia, Argentina, and Brazil.

Because of Viognier’s rather forward nose and distinctive flavor, it’s often paired with foods that won’t compete with it. Simply prepared white fish, scallops, and shrimp are popular suggestions. You might also consider meats with sweet glazes like ham or grilled chicken that might be complemented by the wine’s fruity characteristics. Other alternatives include spicy Asian fare or even mild curries.

When serving Viognier, be sure never to over chill it lest you lose its alluring aromas and dampen its forward flavors. I’d recommend chilling fuller bodied examples for 1 hour (55°F to 60°F) in the refrigerator and maybe 1.5 hours (50°F to 55°F) for medium bodied.

When buying Viognier, look for wines that are no more than two to four years beyond their vintage date. Unless you’re really sure of the maker, I’d go for the most recent vintage available and not risk anything more than two years old.

Given its great inherent characteristics and strong character, maybe the only help Viognier needs to get it through its identity crisis, as I survived mine, is a new name. After all, didn’t the savvy parent of the California wine industry, Robert Mondavi, do a lot to rescue Sauvignon Blanc in the 1970s by re-christening it “Fume Blanc”?

As is our custom, we first tasted each of the wines for this feature individually without any food and then later re-sampled them with our meal, which was a simply prepared roasted salmon with a lemon-butter sauce served over steamed rice.

The wines are listed in the order in which they were tasted.

1998 Jean-Michel Gerin, “La Loye” Condireu $49.95

[Editors Note: Our first wine, a Condrieu, from the renowned Jean-Michel Gerin was used as a standard, against which to measure the other Viogniers in our tasting.]

Brassy gold in color, this wine has a big nose of musky apricot, pear, and honeysuckle. It’s full bodied, viscous, and buttery on the tongue and delivers peach and bitter-almond flavors with some mineral notes like slate. This is a well-structured wine with good acidity and a long finish highlighted by some baking-spice notes. This is a textbook Viognier with an elusive character and a lot of complexity. It was great with the salmon. Imported by New Castle Imports, Inc., Myrtle Beach, SC.

2000 Eric Texier, Viognier, Cotes du Rhone $15.99

Gold in color, this wine has a forward, perfumy, floral nose of sweet violets and honeysuckle, with nuances of spice. On the palate, it is buttery and unctuous and delivers plenty of peach flavors, with creamy undertones, that metamorphose from sweet to dry. Light to medium bodied, the wine is well balanced with good acidity. The long, lasting finish is marked by orange zest with some toast notes. This wine was extraordinary with the food. Definitely a star of this tasting. Imported by LDM Wines, Inc., New York, NY.

1999 Pere Anselme, Viognier, Vin de Pays d’Oc $8.99

Light gold in color, this wine has a more restrained nose of apple blossoms, peaches, and slate. There’s a hint of buttered rum as well. The wine is medium bodied and dry, with slate and anise flavors. It has a relatively short finish with bitter peach-pit notes. It was just OK with the food. Imported by Opici Import Company, Glen Rock, NJ.

2000 Domaine de Salente, “Le Vallon de la Violette” Viognier, Vin de Pays d’Oc $11.99

This wine from the Languedoc is gold in color and has an inviting nose of apricots and butter with some herbaceous notes. Medium to full bodied, it is rather forward on the palate. With a nice mouthfeel and good acidity, it delivers butter, apricot, and some lemon-citrus flavors. The finish is good with tart lemon zest notes. With the food, one taster likened this wine to a chutney but thought it was a bit overpowering. I think it would have been better with a mild curry. Imported by Premier Wine Merchants, New York, NY.

1999 Don Miguel Gascon, Viognier, Mendoza $10.99

Pale gold in color, this Argentinean Viognier has oak and musk on the nose. Light to medium bodied, it brings lemon-citrus and violet flavors to the palate. There’s a certain tartness throughout. It’s balanced but leans towards acidic. It has a short finish with lemony acidity. This wine seems more South American than French in style. It improved considerably with the food. Imported by Pasternak Wine Imports, Greenwich, CT.

2000 R.H. Phillips, EXP Viognier, Dunnigan Hills $13.99

Pale yellow in color, this wine has a pretty nose of honeysuckle and apricots. It’s medium to full bodied with pronounced peach flavors that are tempered by orange citrus. There are some tropical-fruit notes as well. This wine is nicely structured with good acidity and has a nice apricot and lemon-zest finish. “A lovely wine, with no bitterness,” commented one taster. Although good with the fish, it was a little too strong for it. Nevertheless, we rated it a star of the tasting.

2001 Oxford Landing, Viognier “Limited Release”, South Australia $11.99

Light gold in color, this wine has a restrained nose of apple blossoms and minerals along with peach and citrus nuances. Medium to full bodied, it delivers plenty of creamy, peach, and sweet apricot flavors. The wine is well structured with good acidity for food. It has a good finish with a sweet, dried-apricot finish. Although not at all complex, its attraction lies in its simplicity. This wine went well with the fish and would probably go just as well with a mildly spicy curry. You might also serve it as an aperitif. Another star of this tasting. Imported by Negociants U.S.A. Inc, Napa, CA.

1999 Indian Springs Vineyards, Viognier, Nevada County, CA $15.99

Pale straw in color, this wine has a raisin or prune nose. On the palate, it’s medium to full bodied and unctuous. It delivers stewed-fruit flavors like prunes, with a hint of pine nuts, that eventually give way to jasmine flavors. The flavors linger on the palate. The finish is again raisins and prunes. “This wine,” remarked one taster, “seems to have an identity crisis. It doesn’t know if it wants to be an aperitif or a dessert wine.” In any event, it was too fruity sweet for the fish.

1999 Summers, Villa Andriana Viognier, California $12.99

Gold in color, this wine has a cat’s-pee nose that seems closer to Sauvignon Blanc than Viognier and has sulfur and muscat notes as well. Light to medium bodied, it delivers under-ripe pineapple and cardboard flavors. The finish is almost non-existent. A major disappointment. It did improve a bit, however, with the food.

1998 Jaffurs, Viognier, Santa Barbara County $17.99

Yellow gold in color, this wine has honey on the nose, with some hints of toasty oak. Medium to full bodied, it delivers buttery and lemon-zest flavors. There are also some subtle spice notes throughout. The wine is well structured with good acidity. The finish is long with lemon zest, toast, and just a hint of spice at the end. It was good with the salmon.

1999 Equus, Viognier, Central Coast $18.99

Pale gold in color, this wine has an alluring nose of honeysuckle, pineapple, and wet slate, along with some toast notes. Medium to full bodied, it carries its 16% alcohol quite well. It delivers plenty of ripe pineapple and tropical fruit flavors with “big time” coconut. The flavors linger. It also has a great mouthfeel and a long lasting, dry finish, with spices and a tartness that presents an interesting contrast to the wine’s sweeter flavors. There’s also some bitter almond on the finish. An elegantly complex wine. It was very good with the food. Definitely, a star of this tasting.

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