Chateau de Campuget 1753 Viognier 2015
Product Details
Winemaker Notes
The 2015 vintage unfolds a bouquet of honeysuckle, orange marmalade, peaches, and tropical fruits. Medium-bodied and filled with fruit yet structured, with good underlying acidity to provide freshness and focus.
Chateau de Campuget in Costieres de Nimes is a beautiful domaine dating back to 1640. The property has belonged to the Dalle family since 1941.
Chateau de Campuget wines are produced by respecting tradition while utilizing the most modern oenological techniques. Although equipped with stainless-steel tanks and modern tools, wines are made and matured in a traditional way, and quality is strictly controlled from the vineyard to the bottle. Chateau De Campuget's main varieties are Syrah and Grenache Noir for the grapevines classified in AOC. For white wines, the winery uses Roussanne and Grenache Blanc in Costieres de Nimes and Chardonnay in Vin de Pays.
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.
French wine is nearly synonymous with fine wine and all things epicurean, France has a culture of wine production and consumption that is deeply rooted in tradition. Many of the world’s most beloved grape varieties originated here, as did the concept of “terroir”—soil type, elevation, slope and mesoclimate combine to produce resulting wines that convey a sense of place. Accordingly, most French wine is labeled by geographical location, rather than grape variety. So a general understaning of which grapes correspond to which regions can be helpful in navigating all of the types of French wine. Some of the greatest wine regions in the world are here, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne, but each part of the country has its own specialties and strengths.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the king and queen of Burgundy, producing elegant French red and white wines with great acidity, the finest examples of which can age for decades. The same two grapes, along with Pinot Meunier, are used to make Champagne.
Of comparable renown is Bordeaux, focused on bold, structured red blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc including sometimes a small amount of Petit Verdot or Malbec. The primary white varieties of Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
The northern Rhône Valley is responsible for single-varietal Syrah, while the south specializes in Grenache blends; Rhône's main white variety is Viognier.
Most of these grape varieties are planted throughout the country and beyond, extending their influence into other parts of Europe and New World appellations.