From my very first sip of Condrieu, I have been a great fan of Viognier. And when you have such a slightly harrowed life story as this grape, you need all the fans you can get. Being nearly extinct in your home region, Condrieu in the French region of the Northern Rhone because nobody loved you anymore due to pestilence and war amongst other things totally beyond your control, would have a dampening effect on anyone regardless of your quality.
Those dampened spirits have changed rather dramatically in twenty years though. Australia has played a significant part in this grape’s change of fate, as has the US and France itself, and one of Australia’s First Families of Wine, the Hill-Smith family, certainly has been a pioneer in resurrecting the grape.
Yalumba’s pioneering work with Viognier in Australia has been ongoing since the first vines were planted in 1981 with the recent sourcing of seven new clones from Condrieu and the USA being planted in their vineyards. Not only does Yalumba produce classic dry Viognier and Shiraz Viognier, they also have several dessert styles and a unique blend of Viognier with Tempranillo and Grenache.
From there, Viognier spread rather rapidly across Australia with 1451 hectares planted by 2010. The styles of wines being produced with this grape are also quite remarkable – sparkling whites through to boisterous reds and sticky dessert wines.
Here are some of my favourites:
Philip Shaw The Dreamer Viognier 2011 $20 (10.5%) – A more delicate style of Viognier with a minerally apricot nose. Do not confuse the lower alcohol with it being less than ripe. While it is sits lightly on the palate, it has lovely texture with excellent acid balance and poise. A very pretty wine that lingers longer than many of the more flamboyant and fleshy flash and grab styles available.
Yalumba Viognier 2010 $25 (13.5%) – Coming from pioneering stock, this wine has a stylish fleshy purity to the fruit. The musky stonefruit is alluring with a long apricot length. This wine is showing little fat – just ripeness and foodability.
Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier 2010 ($49) – This wine is well worth spending the extra fun coupons. This is one of the best that Australia produces. It is tight and minerally on opening with apricot and white pepper. It is linear along the palate with a long peppery length. A very finely textured wine.
The D’Arenberg The Hermit Crab 2010 Viognier Marsanne ($17) – This is one of D’Arenberg’s distinctive blends and the name ‘The Hermit Crab’ recognises the McLaren Vale’s limestone’s origin – those creatures from under the sea. There is also a tip of the hat to ‘Hermit = Hermitage’ in the Rhone, the home of both of these varietals. The blend is 68% Viognier and 32% of one of my favourite white varietals, Marsanne. Pretty talc, lime and apricot aromas jump out of the glass. The fruit is in such generous proportions with a fine silkiness throughout. A good robust wine for food, particularly for strong flavours as the acid keeps the wine in line and fresh.
