Viognier: From Condrieu to California

The humid weather has passed by in Niagara. There were a few days last week where it felt like I was stepping outside into a pre-heated oven. 

Thankfully, today the air is cool, the skies are mainly blue with patches of clouds but chances are, the humidity has just gone to sleep for awhile. Like the creature in the horror film and Arnold in his Terminator role, it  will most likely 'be back'.

Strangely, I found myself drinking a lot of full-bodied red wines on those hot, sickly sticky days (I know, I know...). Now it's a bit cooler and I'm in the mood for a chilled white. (Go figure...)

STARTING WITH THE NAME AND GOING FROM THERE...

Having worked in wine retail over the past few years, there are two main white grapes with names that are continuously mispronounced. Gewürztraminer being the first and Viognier the second (Riesling, a sometimes minor third). 

I've often heard 'gewoorz-trainer' or 'gewuzz-tra-miner' and 'vagner' or 'veeyog-near'. It's understandable. For those first stepping into the vast universe that is wine, the European varieties can make you scratch your head and pray your pronunciation is the closest. 

First things first, vee-YON-yay. Viognier. Pretty easy. (And of course - ge-VERZ-tra-meaner.)

VIOGNIER: A LITTLE BACKGROUND INFO

The Viognier variety is grown in the Rhône Valley, with its famous home in Condrieu, a white-only AOC amongst a river landscape of Syrah soaked slopes.

According to Roger Scruton in his fresh, philosophical wine treatise, I Drink Therefore I Am (tipping his hat  towards Monty Pythone), Viognier was imported to the site from Dalmatia (modern day Croatia) in 281.  Emperor Vespasian had first torn out the Rhône vineyards after a local rebellion. Emperor Probus subsequently saw things differently and believed that if good wine could be produced, there would be no need for the people to rebel. The Viognier grape would keep everyone cool, calm and happy (and hopefully intoxicated).

Unfortunately, over the years, vinegrowers have learned it is a difficult variety to manage and keep happy. Viognier is prone to disease, especially powdery mildew and apparently buds before early spring frosts. In 1965, there were only 8 hectares of Viognier grown in Condrieu.

Things have picked up. In the 1980s nurserymen saw an increase in demand for cuttings.  In the south of the France, especially the Languedoc region, Viognier takes up about 1,540 hectares. Today, Condrieu has about 98 hectares (242 acres) with plantings showing up just outside the designated  Rhône AOC  at 2,360 ha.

CONDRIEU, CHÂTEAU GRILLET and the CÔTE-RÔTIE

Typically, whites that garner a high price tag can be aged. Think of Riesling from the Mosel-Saar-Ruher and the Chardonnay-based Burgundies of the Côte de Beaune. 

Not so with Condrieu. The Viognier-based wines are expensive and high in-demand but are meant to be consumed as soon as the new vintage is available. Viognier doesn't go the distance the way Chardonnay or Riesling can.

Within the AOC is France's smallest wine appellations, Château Grillet. The vines here are grown on dangerous steep slopes; the best grapes sourced from low-yielding old vines. The wines are aged in oak barrel for 24 months. Despite all the effort, the region produces little over 10,000 bottles a year.

North of Condrieu lies the Côte-Rôtie ('Roasted Slope'), the most northern AOC of the Rhône Valley. Only red wines are produced. The Syrahs, however, can be blended with up to 20% Viognier, the white variety adding body, elegance and delicate spice to the burly reds. 

Beyond the northern Rhône, Viognier blends well with Roussane, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Rolle in the southern stretch of the Valley.

VIOGNIER ELSEWHERE: AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES

In the New World, the Aussies have looked to the French for inspiration blending their Shiraz with Viognier in such regions as McLaren Vale and the Barossa.

In California, Viognier's volume is turned up and the stone fruit and flower we find so soft and delicate in France becomes plumper on the palate - the wines are also juicier with ripe apricots, sun-soaked peaches and fat melons. Cline puts out a big pineapple-punchy Viognier while Calera's offering has honeyed notes of honesuckle and white flower - a little more Old World in style. (Also check out Treana's Central Coast White, a blend of Viognier and Marsanne from their Mer Soleil Vineyard.)

Of all the states, Virginia is fast becoming synonymous with world class Viognier. Horton Vineyards of Orange County is leading the pack of up-and-coming wineries. The state first saw vineyards planted in the early 1600s but many succumbed to the numerous pests and diseases of the United States. Today Viognier, amongst Petit Verdot, Petit Manseng and Touriga Nacional are giving the Eastern state a chance to shine.

VIOGNIER: THE FASHIONABLE AND FUN

Both Condrieu and California Viognier can be quite pricey. If you're looking for some cheap and fun cool alternatives to the modern classics, check out Cono Sur's Viognier at $9.95. Baron-Rothschild's Introductory line Viognier is also easy on the wallet at $10.95.

Today at the LCBO I picked up the Domaine de Vedilhan 2008 Viognier from the Vin de Pays D'Oc (on sale at $10.40). The estate is close to Narbonne in the Languedoc where the grape has risen in popularity.

This is signature Viognier with apricot, peach and white flowers with a hint of pear and cucumber. Ideal as an apéritif, something to sip while you're making dinner. Some critics say the variety is hard to pair with food but I think Viognier is perfect with an Hawaiian pizza generously topped with golden pineapples.  

For additional fun, pair the wine with fish and chips and a long summer sunset.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lukacs, Paul, The Great Wines of America. W&W Norton Company, New York, 2005.

MacNeil, Karen, The Wine Bible. Workman Publishing Company Inc. New York, 2001

 Robinson, Jancis, The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 2003.

Scruton, Roger, I Drink Therefore I Am. Continuum International, New York, 2009.

PHOTO SOURCE

http://www.waihekewine.co.nz/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/images/winemaking/Viognier.jpg

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Bobal: Big, Beefy and Ideal for BBQ Season

Tempranillo, Garnacha and Monastrell are the three typical red varieties you find in the wines of Rioja, Navarra and Jumilla. 

Cava is a blend of Macebeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada. 

Jerez relies on Palomino or Pedro Ximénez to make the fortified wines of Andalusia. 

Verdejo is to Rueda what Albariño is to Rias Biaxas - both champion grapes of cooler, northern "Green Spain".

But look out, there's another beautiful grape to keep your eye out for. 

BOBAL: THE NEW BIG GUN

For many years, Bobal was the go-to grape when Spanish winemakers wanted to add body to their hefty reds. It was little more than a workhorse grape, vastly under-appreciated - much like a Hollywood script doctor.

In recent years, the grape has revealed itself to be a stronger blending partner with the likes of Tempranillo and Garnacha. As a varietal wine, it has excellent aging potential especially in such DOs as Utiel-Requena and Valencia in the Levant. And unlike Monastrell, it has better acidity retention making for refreshing reds with structured tannins.

MUSTIGUILLO: A BODEGA FOR BOBAL

Established just little over a decade ago, this small family-owned bodega  located 100km west of Valencia  sits on 80 hectares of mostly Bobal grapes. Thus far, the Sarrión clan has refused to join the DO Utiel-Requena and their wines tend to fall under the designation of Vino de la Tierra el Terrerazo.

Mustiguillo has been highly praised, named one of the top twenty new wineries in  Food & Wine Magazine's annual Wine Issue (Oct. 2004). 

Their 2002 Finca Terrarazo was made from a blend of sixty-five percent Bobal, twenty percent Tempranillo and fifteen percent Cabernet Sauvignon with seventeen months in French oak barrels. The 2005 was rated 92 points by The Wine Advocates' Jay Miller and 91 points by Josh Reynolds of International Wine Cellar.

MESTIZAJE

If you want value, Mustiguillo's "Mestizaje" is the wine to grab for your BBQ dinners this summer. The 2005 was given 89 points by Jay Miller but the recent 2007 vintage received 90 points by the same critic.

Like the Finca Terrarazo, the wine is primarily Bobal (70% in this case) with Garnacha, Syrah, Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon thrown in for good measure and complexity. Oak and barrel-aged (6 months) the wine delivers heady red fruit, licorice, blueberry, brown sugar and a spicy black pepper finish. Ideal with steak and other flame-broiled fair.

MOVE OVER MALBEC - Last year Malbec was the go-to wine for backyard BBQ season. Let's make Bobal the new beef-friendly buddy.

Mustiguillo's "Mestizaje" is available in the Vintages section at your local LCBO for $16.95.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jeffs, Julian, The Wines of Spain. Mitchell Beazley, London, 2006.

Radford, John, The New Spain. Mitchell Beazley, London, 2007. 

Robinson, Jancis, The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 2003.
http://www.lcbo.com
http://www.polanerselections.com/producer.php?pID=751

PHOTO SOURCE
http://www.sibaritia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/bobal.jpg

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The Other 'Ribera' - Ribera del Júcar and the Lands of the Meseta

"In a place in La Mancha... of which I do not remember the name..."

- Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote

The land of the Meseta, of Madrid and New Castile is the land of high central plains. It is the heart of Spain, decked with flat landscapes of red soil and stubby vines. In the distance, the sunburnt circle of mountains  gives one the feeling of immense isolation and wonder.

The windmills here aren't giants, no, they are short and their sails fly fast in the winter months when the plain's winds rush with a solemn howl over the landscape, creating Spain's lowest temperatures (-22 degrees Celcius). 

Following the Reconquista, Madrid became the capital. The city stood as far away from the coast as possible, central and also out of the greedy reaches of the regal but older kingdoms. Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Catalonia had longed scrapped and  squabbled with each other - Madrid would be free but  also become the new bureaucracy of the recently liberated 'Spain'. 

LA MANCHA AND ENVIRONS

Hands down, La Mancha makes the most wine in the Meseta. These are the value wines you find on the supermarket shelves of Europe and in the cheap wine section of the LCBO. They are big and fruity and simply fun to drink. Just look for Tempranillos from Vino de la Tierra de Castilla.

Valdepeñas, or 'Valley of the Stones' lies just south of La Mancha and produces some excellent Reservas and Gran Reservas. The area's history goes back to the Romans but many believe it was the monks of 12th century Burgundy who first brought Cencibel (aka Tempranillo) here. In the twentieth century, it was often considered the "Poor Man's Rioja" but as we find in the Twenty-First century, the wines can stand up to the best of North-Central Spain.

Almansa is considered 'the forefinger' of Castilla-La Mancha and could well have been assigned to the DO's (Denominación de Origin) of Valencia and the Levant. But politics is politics and borders fall where men lie but one thing's for sure, culturally, the region is more northern than Mediterranean. If anything, the one great common factor it has with its more eastern neighbors is the vast planting of Monastrell which dominates half the vineyards.

And there's also Manchuela, second-largest in size after massive La Mancha. The main grape here is Bobal which accounts for around 70% of the vineyard. 

RIBERA DEL JÚCAR

In the world of wine, we remember the big names: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany, Rioja, Jerez, Barossa, Marlborough, Mosel-Saar-Ruher, Napa, etc...etc...

Even in Spain-loving wine circles, the word 'Ribera' is often followed by 'del Duero' and we think of the robust, passionate and heady wines of the north. We think of Vega Sicilia's famous dark wines that can age for decades. 

There are other Ribera's, however. There's Ribeira Sacra in Galicia; Ribera del Andarax in Andalusia and Ribera del Guadiana in Extremadura in western Spain on the River Guadiana. 

In the Meseta, we find Ribera del Júcar fiendishly sandwiched between La Mancha and Manchuela. The D.O. lies in the province of Cuenca and surrounds seven small villages. 

There is more of a Mediterranean climate at work and it's not as harsh as the heated plains of La Mancha. It also rains more in Ribera del Júcar than in the land of Don Quixoite's  monstrous windmills: 20% percent higher to be exact. This means the vines don't have to dig down so deep to find water. 

The soils of La Mancha are red-brown sand and clay while in Júcar you'll notice outcrops of marl and limestone. This makes a difference as well. La Mancha, as I mentioned produces busty, brawny reds but here, although the wines are also big there is a seductive, perfumed quality which makes the reds intoxicating even before you sip them. 

The main grape varieties include Cencibel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bobal, Merlot and Syrah.

CASA DE ILLANA

La Mancha and Castilla are all about value. The same goes for Ribera del Júcar. 

The 2006 Casa de Illana Bobal/Tempranillo/Syrah blend offers the wine lover a gorgeous red without the hefty price tag. On the nose you'll notice perfumed black pepper and blueberries. An earthy spice seems to float and flower in the glass. Take a sip and the dark fruit will rush over your palate along with hints of smoke and dashes of baking spice. A lovely, delicate wine and only $12.95 at the LCBO in your Vintages section.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Radford, John, The New Spain. Mitchell Beazley, London, 2007.


PHOTO SOURCE
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Books/Pix/pictures/2007/09/20/windmills400.jpg

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