Cline North Coast Viognier 2019
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#50 of Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Best Buy of 2020
Cline Viognier is a golden straw color. The wine shows juicy tropical fruit, fresh apricot and notes of mandarin orange and grapefruit. Luscious and full-bodied with a slight crisp acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
This rich, soft and ripe-tasting wine folds peach, butter and almond flavors into a smooth texture and full body. It gives a nice sense of breadth and fullness for such a well-priced offering.
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2021-
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James
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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.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.