Falling in love with Viognier
If you haven't discovered viognier, you're about to fall in love. One of the most beguiling white wines around, it's well worth hunting out producers with a dedication to bringing out its best.
Viognier's Origins
Originating from the Rhône Valley in France, Viognier is the only permitted grape variety in the Rhône appellations of Condrieu and Château Grillet, located on the west bank of the Rhône.
Viognier (pronounced vee-ohn-yay) almost became extinct as recently as the 1980s, when as little as 8 acres remained in France. Thankfully it is now grown more extensively in the Rhone Valley & around the world, including in the USA & Australia.
Yalumba planted the first viognier vines in Australia in 1980. We weren't far behind, including viognier as one of the founding varietals at The Islander Estate Vineyards in 2000, the only viognier grown on Kangaroo Island. We are thrilled that our vines are recovering from the 2020 bushfires.
Viognier is notoriously difficult to grow. It is low yielding, subject to disease & picking must be carefully timed to get the best aromatics & balance of its oily character, so it's a grape grown by viticulturalists with a genuine love for it.
Why we love it
In Australia, viognier is often hidden away in Shiraz, with just a few per cent added to bring fragrance & texture to the red wine. However, we know it is a stunning white wine as a single varietal & can't help but reserve a tiny quantity each year to showcase in our varietal range.
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Viognier sits in the middle of the scale between delicate unwooded varieties like pinot gris & sauvignon blanc and the richer, often-oaked varieties like chardonnay.
It is medium to full-bodied, dry & often golden in colour. It can be unoaked but most often oaked to add texture, viscosity, spice & a touch of vanilla.
Viognier is a distinctive wine. It has been described as reminiscent of apricots, rose, honeysuckle, ripe peaches & musk. The best are floral & textural, even voluptuous.
Viognier has a distinctive oily character in the mid-palate, which is 'tell' for the variety along with its unique floral & stone fruit aroma.
Viognier's Food Friends
Viognier is a food-friendly wine pairing with a wide range of dishes. Its fragrant characteristic pairs well with spicy Thai herb-based dishes or creamy mild Indian curries, hearty Moroccan & African dishes, freshly grilled seafood or barbecued chicken.
As a textural oaked white wine, serving viognier at the right temperature is important to get the best from its flavour & aroma. We recommend lightly chilling viognier rather than serving it fridge-cold to allow its stunning aromas to come to the forward.
Viognier is also an excellent wine to add to your cellar & age for several years.
How we produce viognier
The Islander Estate Vineyards produced just a single barrel of viognier each year. The grapes are wild fermented in seasoned barrels, cold settled for 24 hours, then the wine is placed in 400 litre seasoned French oak puncheons for ageing, with lees stirring for three months. Malolactic ferment is avoided to preserve freshness and acidity. After ageing, the wine is filtered and hand bottled with only 30 cases produced.
Tasting Notes
COLOUR: Deep Straw
NOSE: Fresh apricots, honey, orange blossom
PALATE: Creamy, viscous middle palate with a slight nuttiness, apricot & dried fruit.
FINISH: A soft textural mouthfeel does not detract from the freshness in the finish.
Reviews
Our new 2021 vintage is yet to be reviewed however, Jenni Port's review of our 2019 vintage for the Halliday Wine Companion tells you all you need to know.
"Archetypal viognier with the scent of honey-drizzled peaches and pears, orange blossom and fruit peel. Intoxicating stuff. Golden and creamy style with a slightly nutty demeanour that lasts to the finish, the apricot stone and dried fruit savouriness complete the textbook example. A wine of many parts and with many years ahead." 95/100 points