Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A terrific wine, the 2018 Viognier Larner Vineyard is 100% varietal and spent 8 months in neutral barrels. Notes of buttered tropical fruits, honeysuckle, pineapple, and white flowers all flow to a medium-bodied Viognier that has a rounded, seamless texture, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. It's impeccably made and is going to shine on the dinner table.
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.
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.