RAISE A GLASS
You know the feeling when you’ve forgotten someone’s birthday. That #doh moment when you wonder if you should make a retrospective fuss, or let it go.
I only went and forgot to tell you about International Viognier Day which took place at the end of last month.
Viognier is one of my favourite grape varieties. I hope it didn’t feel snubbed. In the wine world, time ebbs and flows regardless, which means I can big it up for viognier any time I choose. This is one of those times.
The viognier grape’s homeland is in the Rhône Valley in France. It brings a silky offering to your senses of blossom and stone fruits. It is now grown all over the world and so here’s three international choices:
Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2020 (RRP £9.49 Majestic, Asda, Morrison’s, Co-op). The winemaker of Yalumba, Louisa Rose, took the variety under her wing when she joined the Australian producer in 1992.
This wine is fermented with wild yeast, which adds a complexity.
My senses discovered gentle notes of honeysuckle and citrus, together with dried honey. Maybe some rhubarb, yes, I thought, rhubarb. It has refreshing flavours of citrus, white peach and a hint of baking spice.
Apparently the “secret” in Viu Manent Secret Viognier, 2018 (RRP, £14, online at Flagship Wines) is that up to 15% of the blend in this range are ‘other varieties’ which can vary each year.
Once again, the wine is fermented with natural yeasts which exist in and around the winery and on the grapes.
The wine delighted me with its freshness. I dreamed I was there, standing in the breeze coming in from the Andes. Then, wow, yes, pineapple brought a memory of the pina coladas my daughter made in lockdown last year.
Finally, a French viognier. Louis Latour Ardèche Viognier 2018 (RRP £15, including online at The Drink Shop and Worsley Wines). The viognier grapes are hand-picked and vinified at Louis Latour’s modern winery on the outskirts of the village of Alba-la-Romaine. A third is then aged in French oak.
Oooh, my list of tasting delights… apricot, icing sugar, pineapple cubes, vanilla shortbread, cake, honey and almonds. It has the softness I love in a viognier, with a hint of spice and salinity. Smashing.