Heyo all

I am a dedicated fan of this varietal, just tried a new (to me) winery
called "Clay Station"
Yummy!

I have several favorites, Rosenblum, Curtiss, EXP to name a few.

Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?

Thanks!

wrote:\

> I am a dedicated fan of this varietal, just tried a new (to me) winery
> called "Clay Station"
> Yummy!
>
> I have several favorites, Rosenblum, Curtiss, EXP to name a few.
>
> Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?


Sure. Condrieu.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Thanks

> skrev i melding
oups.com...
> Thanks
>
Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of all? Will
set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the smallest
'appellation' in France.
Anders

Anders Tørneskog wrote:
> > skrev i melding
> oups.com...
>
>>Thanks
>>
>
> Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of all? Will
> set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
> A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the smallest
> 'appellation' in France.

Because the wines of Chateau-Grillet are rarely if ever worth the price
and usually are far inferior to the better Condrieus? I'll take a
Condrieu from Vernay, Gangloff or the less oaky ones of Cuilleron, thank
you.

Mark Lipton

Confession - I feel like an ignorant wine slut here, I have never had a
French Viognier.....what does Condrieu cost?

Many thanks

Calera! (From Mount Harlan. Just inland of Monterey.) For drinking now,
I would go with the 2002. Drinks like a fine white burg. Elegant.

> skrev i melding
ups.com...
> Confession - I feel like an ignorant wine slut here, I have never had a
> French Viognier.....what does Condrieu cost?
>
> Many thanks
>
20-90USD... You should find Vernay for about 40USD. Tip: Try
www.wine-searcher.com , key in 'Condrieu' and hit 'search'. It'll give you
an international list of vendors when you have selected a vintage (190 hits
for 2003).

And Mark is right of course, Ch. Grillet is very famous, but doesn't live up
to that any more, I've learned.

Anders

"Anders Tørneskog" > wrote:

> Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of
> all?

Because it has the worst QPR in dry whites worldwide?

> Will set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
> A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the
> smallest 'appellation' in France.

Don't repeat that urban legend, puleeeze! Chteau-Grillet (spelled
with a hyphen) has 3.5 hectares. Romanée-Conti (1.8 hectares) is
smaller, and La Romanée (0.8 hectares) is the smallest AOC in
France.

M.

"Michael Pronay" > skrev i melding
...
> "Anders Tørneskog" > wrote:
> Don't repeat that urban legend, puleeeze! Chteau-Grillet (spelled
> with a hyphen) has 3.5 hectares. Romanée-Conti (1.8 hectares) is
> smaller, and La Romanée (0.8 hectares) is the smallest AOC in
> France.
>
Hi
The web is useful at times. I found the following on Chateau-Grillet:

Time to clear up some misunderstandings. Chateau Grillet is the smallest AC
for white wine....

When young, their wine is less intensely floral and fruity than most
Condrieu, so if that´s what you´re after then steer clear of it. It will
come across as a fairly pleasant Viognier wine, moderately complex but
nothing to warrant the high price. It is only after a decade (depending on
the vintage)that Chateau Grillet starts finding it´s stride. The complexity
of the nose is quite something else. Burying your head in a bouqet of dried
flowers is a comparison that springs to mind. Spices, herbs, wax and other
notes to numerous to mention are displayed with razorlike precision and the
finish lasts forever (by now you can probably tell I like the stuff).

I guess I'll have to try the stuff some time!
Anders

In article . com>,
says...
> Heyo all
>
> I am a dedicated fan of this varietal, just tried a new (to me) winery
> called "Clay Station"
> Yummy!
>
> I have several favorites, Rosenblum, Curtiss, EXP to name a few.
>
> Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?

Someone is often quoted about Viognier that it's usually either Julia
Roberts or Dolly Parton. That is, more acidic and bright or very
voluptuous.

Garretson makes good viognier:
http://www.garretsonwines.com/id37.htm

I also like viognier from Cedarville and Arger-Martucci. My favorite is
Sierra Vista.
I like EXP, too, but I have a hard time finding it.
Tablas Creek makes some wonderful wines blending Viognier with Marsanne
and Rousanne.

"Anders Tørneskog" > skrev i meddelandet
...
>
> > skrev i melding
> oups.com...
>> Thanks
>>
> Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of all? Will
> set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
> A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the smallest
> 'appellation' in France.
> Anders
.... and by most accounts, way overpriced.
Cheers
Nils Gustaf

"Mark Lipton" > skrev i meddelandet
news:6h6kf.617615$xm3.309967@attbi_s21...
> Anders Tørneskog wrote:
>> > skrev i melding
>> oups.com...
>>
>>>Thanks
>>>
>>
>> Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of all? Will
>> set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
>> A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the smallest
>> 'appellation' in France.
>
> Because the wines of Chateau-Grillet are rarely if ever worth the price
> and usually are far inferior to the better Condrieus? I'll take a
> Condrieu from Vernay, Gangloff or the less oaky ones of Cuilleron, thank
> you.


Mark, speaking of oaky stuff:

Four weeks ago, in a blind tasting of "aromatic whites" (we didn´t even know
that it was supposed to be aromatic whites, at first we thought it was an
Alsace tasting) we had as #5 in a flight of six a horribly characterless
white plonk, with a slight taste of banana or marshmallows, and loads of
toasted oak chips. We thought this horrible plonk some kind of decidedly
low-endian Chard, from some place way to warm to make good or even
acceptable wines - great was our consernation when we later learned that the
wine (incidentally, the only one we didn´t get even slightly right) was
Guigal´s Condrieu, 2003 if I remember correctly. Yeech!

Cheers

Nils Gustaf
--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se

In article . com>,
says...
>
>Heyo all
>
>I am a dedicated fan of this varietal, just tried a new (to me) winery
>called "Clay Station"
>Yummy!
>
>I have several favorites, Rosenblum, Curtiss, EXP to name a few.
>
>Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?
>
>Thanks!

It seems that you are sampling US Viogniers, so I will assume that you are in
US. You might want to go shopping for two domestic (US) producers: Gregroy
Graham Napa Vigonier, and Joseph Phelps Viognier (though in Napa, I cannot
recall where his Viognier comes from). Neither is produced in great quantity,
but I find both excellent.

Obviously, as stated elsewhere, Condrieu is probably the benchmark for
Viognier, and most of those imported to the US (also small quantities) are
worth the $.

Hunt

Hunt wrote:
> In article . com>,
> says...
> >
> >Heyo all
> >
> >I am a dedicated fan of this varietal, just tried a new (to me) winery
> >called "Clay Station"
> >Yummy!
> >
> >I have several favorites, Rosenblum, Curtiss, EXP to name a few.
> >
> >Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?
> >
> >Thanks!
>
> It seems that you are sampling US Viogniers, so I will assume that you are in
> US. You might want to go shopping for two domestic (US) producers: Gregroy
> Graham Napa Vigonier, and Joseph Phelps Viognier (though in Napa, I cannot
> recall where his Viognier comes from). Neither is produced in great quantity,
> but I find both excellent.
>
> Obviously, as stated elsewhere, Condrieu is probably the benchmark for
> Viognier, and most of those imported to the US (also small quantities) are
> worth the $.
>
> Hunt

Thanks!

Actually thanks to all of you! I also must mention "Christopher Creek"
Viognier, small winery, somewhat pricey ($25) but oh SO good!

Nils Gustaf Lindgren wrote:
> "Mark Lipton" > skrev i meddelandet
> news:6h6kf.617615$xm3.309967@attbi_s21...
>
>>Anders Tørneskog wrote:
>>
> skrev i melding
egroups.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>>Thanks
>>>>
>>>
>>>Well. why not get Chateau Grillet, the most famous Viognier of all? Will
>>>set you back about 50 to 80 USD a bottle...
>>>A region of its own the yearly production is 10.000 bottles, the smallest
>>>'appellation' in France.
>>
>>Because the wines of Chateau-Grillet are rarely if ever worth the price
>>and usually are far inferior to the better Condrieus? I'll take a
>>Condrieu from Vernay, Gangloff or the less oaky ones of Cuilleron, thank
>>you.
>
>
>
> Mark, speaking of oaky stuff:
>
> Four weeks ago, in a blind tasting of "aromatic whites" (we didn´t even know
> that it was supposed to be aromatic whites, at first we thought it was an
> Alsace tasting) we had as #5 in a flight of six a horribly characterless
> white plonk, with a slight taste of banana or marshmallows, and loads of
> toasted oak chips. We thought this horrible plonk some kind of decidedly
> low-endian Chard, from some place way to warm to make good or even
> acceptable wines - great was our consernation when we later learned that the
> wine (incidentally, the only one we didn´t get even slightly right) was
> Guigal´s Condrieu, 2003 if I remember correctly. Yeech!

Yuck! Like you, I've been singularly unimpressed with the few tastes of
Guigal Condrieu that I've had. In fact, apart from his Cote-Rotie
Blonde et Brune, I rarely enjoy any of the lesser-priced offerings from
Guigal. His single vyd Cote-Roties might be wonderful (though I suspect
that I'd find them as distasteful as "modern" Barolos) but at their
price I'll likely never know...

Mark Lipton

I stayed out of this discussion till now, as I'm just not a Viognier
fan. Sure, I MIGHT buy Cuilleron or Gerin Condrieus if they were
priced about half what they are ( I might buy Ch. Grillet if I saw at
$5) , but the varietal just doesn't sing for me. But I'm surprised by
comments of Guigal's base Condrieu being oaky, I've always assumed it
was all old foudres or stainless. Not great, but varietally correct.
Unfortunately, the only note I can find is on a bottle consumed at age
12!:

1992 Guigal Condrieu
Floral as expected, apricot/peach fruit seems just a little flat.
Certainly hanging on while one might think it should be dead, but
doesn't change my general feeling that I like Viognier young. To be
fair, it actually seemed to put on a little weight/life in the glass.

I did actually like an oaky Guigal Condrieu:
2001 Guigal La Doriane Condrieu
I'm really prepared to not like an oaky Condrieu, but this is nice.
Sure, oak stands out a little, but good acidity for a Viogner helps a
lot, and it's a nice floral/vanilla sip with some cheeses. B+

If I had to buy a Condrieu, I'd probably go for RH Philips EXP or
Garretson.

PS as a followup to post to Mark, I'd add that the last year I'd look
for any Condrieu would be 2003- the grape verges on flabby in most
years, god knows it is a candidate for a spa in 2003!

"Hunt" > wrote in message
...
> In article . com>,
> says...
>>
>>
>>Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?
>>
>>Thanks!
>
> It seems that you are sampling US Viogniers, so I will assume that you are
> in
> US. You might want to go shopping for two domestic (US) producers: Gregroy
> Graham Napa Vigonier, and Joseph Phelps Viognier (though in Napa, I cannot
> recall where his Viognier comes from). Neither is produced in great
> quantity,
> but I find both excellent.
>
If bessiejunejoad likes New World Viognier, Whole Foods is pushing Yalumbia
Viognier as one of their Top Ten this season. It's quite reasonable (USD
$10.00) and was interesting to compare to some US stuff at a tasting friends
had last month ("Value Viogniers").

Hello Dale;
No the 2003 is oaked, according to the Systembolaget with notes of "toasted
oak barrel" on the palate, and oak on the nose. Mercilessly beaten to death
with a bag of oak chips, says I. And that at USD 42.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se

cutecat wrote:
> "Hunt" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article . com>,
> > says...
> >>
> >>
> >>Anyone have suggestions for a good Viognier?
> >>
> >>Thanks!
> >
> > It seems that you are sampling US Viogniers, so I will assume that you are
> > in
> > US. You might want to go shopping for two domestic (US) producers: Gregroy
> > Graham Napa Vigonier, and Joseph Phelps Viognier (though in Napa, I cannot
> > recall where his Viognier comes from). Neither is produced in great
> > quantity,
> > but I find both excellent.
> >
> If bessiejunejoad likes New World Viognier, Whole Foods is pushing Yalumbia
> Viognier as one of their Top Ten this season. It's quite reasonable (USD
> $10.00) and was interesting to compare to some US stuff at a tasting friends
> had last month ("Value Viogniers").

I have had the Yalumba and it is very nice, quite acceptable!
Another one in the same price range is Cline Cellars Viognier, but that
may only be available locally!

"DaleW" > skrev i meddelandet
oups.com...
>I stayed out of this discussion till now, as I'm just not a Viognier
> fan. Sure, I MIGHT buy Cuilleron or Gerin Condrieus if they were
> priced about half what they are ( I might buy Ch. Grillet if I saw at
> $5) , but the varietal just doesn't sing for me. But I'm surprised by
> comments of Guigal's base Condrieu being oaky, I've always assumed it
> was all old foudres or stainless.

Dale; I read about it in the Systembolaget catalogue where it was pointed
out the barrel character in the nose and the "toasted oak barrels" on the
palate. Toasted oak chips, if you ask me. And at SEK 329! That is about USD
42. Vintage was 2003, and the reason for liberal oaking is obvious - hide
what is missing in a flabby vintage.
Cheers!
Nils Gustaf