Kangarilla Road Viognier 2005
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Bouquet: Lively aromas of fresh apricots, lime/citrus conserve coupled with hints of orange blossom.
Palate: Mouth-filling sweet zesty citrus flavors, combined with subtle honeysuckle, fresh acidity and integrated oak. Enjoy now and for the next 5 years.
Before creating the Kangarilla Road vineyard and winery, Kevin O'Brien was a winemaker educated at the highly regarded Roseworthy College in Adelaide. He spent 12 years in the wine industry managing wine companies, as well as two years as the international manager of the Australian Wine Export Council. Today, Kangarilla Road's reds display rich varietal character with finesse, structure and balance not always exhibitied by wines from McLaren Vale. Aside from the winery's Shiraz and cabernet, it can boast of one of the few successful zinfandel plantings in Australia.
Kangarilla Road is a fairly new brand on the Australian wine scene, but the grapes come from vines planted in the 1970's. For several years prior to 1997, Kevin and Helen O'Brien had been seeking a high quality McLaren Vale vineyard to purchase. When they were lucky enough to find the old-vine Cambrai vineyard, they jumped at the chance to purchase it. The winery's first complete vintage as Kangarilla Road was in 1998.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.