Winemaker Notes
Great structure to pair with lemon-butter shrimp or Thai food or even to drink solo.
Blend: 84% Viognier, 11% Roussanne, 5% Marsanne
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Supple and plump with fruit, this Viognier offers cantaloupe, honeysuckle and spice flavors that finish with a rich, oily texture.
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Wine Enthusiast
Softly layered and well-integrated aromas of peach and salty melon show on the nose of this bottling. The palate’s brisk apple, light stonefruit and edgy grapefruit flavors play up against a rocky minerality and zippy acidity
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2022 Carol Shelton Wild Thing Viognier is clearly varietal and a charmer on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers aromas and flavors of dried peach skin and a twist of fragrant flowers. Enjoy it with Thai Basil Chicken. (Tasted: May 8, 2023, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Originally a source of oenological sustenance for gold-seeking miners of the mid-1800s, the Sierra Foothills was the first region in California to produce wines from European grape varieties. Located between Sacramento and the Nevada border, this area’s immigrant settlers chose to forgo growing the then-ubiquitous Mission grape and instead brought with them superior vines from the Old World to plant alongside mining camps.
Zinfandel has been the most important variety of this region since its inception, taking on a spicy character with brambly fruit and firm structure. Amador and El Dorado counties, benefiting from the presence of volcanic and granite soils, are home to the best examples. Bold, robust Rhône Blends and Barbera are also important regional specialties.