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Arguably the most perfumed and seductive white wine of all comes from the once obscure grape variety Viognier, a sprawling rather shabby looking vine that was nearly lost to oblivion. By 1965 only 8 hectares of vineyard remained in Condrieu its spiritual home in the Rhone Valley, France – the result of years of neglect, war and phylloxera. Whilst its origins are ancient, the story of Viognier is thoroughly modern. (Winemaking father and son John & Tim Kirk pictured.)
Innovative young winemakers during the 1970s including Marcel Guigal recognized the versatility of Viognier, both in white and red wine making. The exquisite wines of Condrieu and Cote Rotie (Syrah/Viognier) are now some of the most highly prized - and expensive - wines on the market. The success of the Rhone lead to new plantings of Syrah (Shiraz) and Viognier in California and a cult movement known as the Rhone Rangers. Although Australia is blessed with some of the oldest genetic Shiraz vines in the world it took another decade for winemakers to see the potential of Viognier both as a single varietal wine and as a consort to Shiraz.
Viognier was first brought out to Australia about twenty years ago. Elgee Park, a Mornington Peninsula winery, was one of the first to release an Australian Viognier. However it is Yalumba – a family owned Barossa based winery – which has significantly staked its future on this variety. In 1980 it planted 1.2 hectares of Viognier cuttings in the cooler elevated Eden Valley. It normally takes 3 years to get a crop, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that a commercial Viognier was released. At Yalumba experimentation and research into vineyard performance, fruit quality and winemaking techniques are key concerns. Today Yalumba has significant Viognier vineyards in the Eden Valley and at Oxford Landing near Waikerie, South Australia. Louisa Rose, a senior Yalumba winemaker, is known as the “Queen of Viognier”. She says, “Viognier ripens quite differently to most white varieties: the flavour develops late in the season and quite quickly - it is generally a combination of patience, risk management and prayer that finally sees the flavour accumulate in the fruit.” Clearly making Viognier is a craft rather than a process by numbers. Everything is about flavour and texture - impossible to capture without genuine intuition and guile.
Yalumba’s investment in Viognier is reflected in the glorious 2001 The Virgilius Viognier - an astonishingly good wine with floral/lime/pear/apricot aromas and some jasmine notes. The palate is superbly balanced and slinky/slippery with juicy/musky/pear/apricot flavours and long mineral acidity - arguably the best Viognier yet produced in Australia (about AUD$60). Yalumba also produces a more keenly priced but extremely good Eden Valley Viognier (current vintage is 2001) at around AUD$23. Other Australian Viogniers of note are Heggies, Clonakilla, d’Arenberg The Last Ditch and Petaluma, ranging from around AUD$20 to AUD$40.
Australian winemakers are also making some exquisite Shiraz-Viognier blends. This combination seems to be made in heaven. The heady apricot perfume and viscosity of Viognier adds another dimension to the powerful aromas and flavours of Shiraz. Tim Kirk, a theologian turned winemaker at the Canberra District’s Clonakilla, discovered the astounding nuances of Viognier as a co-factor in the vinification of Shiraz in the early 1990s. His current release, 2001 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is medium concentrated with raspberry pastille, white pepper, apricot aromas and flavours, fine sinewy tannins and a peppery/dry finish. This wine (about AUD$60) will be difficult to find, but encapsulates the sheer potential of Shiraz and Viognier. Torbreck, a relative new comer to the Barossa, has also produced a very decadent and highly aromatic (but expensive) 2000 The Descendents Shiraz Viognier (AUD$125). For those who - like me - measure the cost of living by the price of school shoes, Yalumba’s competitively priced 1999 Shiraz-Viognier (about AUD$32) is probably the better option.
Andrew Caillard MW
Langton’s Fine Wines
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