Some while back, a certain antipodean wine associate from this forum
recommended this 2006 single vineyard, 100% varietal to me. Mrs Axis
recently took a trip down under to visit family, so I placed my order
with her to bring one back in her luggage.

She did, and last night we opened the wine with a lovely grilled
sockeye salmon filet and some thin, delicious organic asparagus -
grilled with a drizzle of olive oil and a touch of salt.

The nose of the wine is heavenly - peaches and honeysuckle, with a
touch of some sweet citrus, such as mandarin. The palate is smooth and
rich, with a long, lingering finish. As with many Viogniers, there is
some heat on the finish - 14.5% alcohol!

For those who like the new world styles of viognier, this is a top
quality wine. But unfortunately, the wine is all but impossible to get
in this country. I've tried wine searcher, and can come up with other
Villa Maria wines, but not this one. It is readily available in NZ, so
if you have access to an importer who can get hold of it, it is highly
recommended.

INteresting sidebar; just the day before, I crushed a half ton of
Viognier (grapes from the Fair Play region) for my own wine --- and
the sugar is such that the projected alcohol is 14.5%! I can only hope
that the wine is half as good.

--
I'm using an evaluation license of nemo since 96 days.
You should really try it!
http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo

AxisOfBeagles wrote:

That sounds like a fantastic wine, Ric. Even though I'm leery of
Viogniers with 14.5% ABV, I'd be very intereted in trying this one.

> INteresting sidebar; just the day before, I crushed a half ton of
> Viognier (grapes from the Fair Play region) for my own wine --- and
> the sugar is such that the projected alcohol is 14.5%! I can only hope
> that the wine is half as good.
>

Good luck with the vinification! Will you really keep all of that wine
for yourself, or do you give it away to friends and such? Half a ton of
grapes sounds like a whole lotta wine to me.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

It is a fair amount of wine. But actually I mis-spoke in that post - I
should have said "a quarter ton" - 500 lbs - which usually ends up
being about 125 bottles of wine. Will get a little less this
particular load simply because I was pressing on my own with my basket
press - a lot less effiecient than a bladder press, which I sometimes
borrow for whites but didn't have time to get. Red wine grapes produce
considerably more - about a third again as much. That's a function of
fermenting on the skin extracts more of the juice - and the pressing
is therefore that much more efficient.

We crush and press anywhere from a half ton (1000 pounds) to a ton of
grapes each year. We drink most of it and give a lot away to friends.
This year, 500 pounds of the Viognier, and 500 each of Merlot and Cab,
intending to blend. And nary a grape from my own vineyard this year
(boo hoo) - big losses to frost, birds, and mildew this year.




In article > Mark Lipton >
wrote:


> Good luck with the vinification! Will you really keep all of that
> wine for yourself, or do you give it away to friends and such? Half
> a ton ofgrapes sounds like a whole lotta wine to me.

> Mark Lipton

--
I'm using an evaluation license of nemo since 97 days.
You should really try it!
http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo

"AxisOfBeagles" wrote ..............

> Some while back, a certain antipodean wine associate from this
> forum recommended this 2006 single vineyard, 100% varietal
> to me. Mrs Axis recently took a trip down under to visit family,
> so I placed my order with her to bring one back in her luggage.
>
> She did, and last night we opened the wine with a lovely grilled
> sockeye salmon filet and some thin, delicious organic asparagus,
> grilled with a drizzle of olive oil and a touch of salt.
>
> The nose of the wine is heavenly - peaches and honeysuckle,
> with a touch of some sweet citrus, such as mandarin.
> The palate is smooth and rich, with a long, lingering finish.
> As with many Viogniers, there is some heat on the finish -
> 14.5% alcohol!
>
> For those who like the new world styles of viognier, this is a top
> quality wine. But unfortunately, the wine is all but impossible to
> get in this country. I've tried wine searcher, and can come up with
> other Villa Maria wines, but not this one. It is readily available in
> NZ, so if you have access to an importer who can get hold of it,
> it is highly recommended.


Hi Ric,

Glad you enjoyed this wine: sounds like a great accompaniment to the
salmon/asparagus too!

Villa Maria classify/market their wines at four differing levels.

The "Single Vineyard" range (to which this viognier belongs) is their top
range; and is made in the smallest volumes, so I do believe that it will be
near on impossible to source this wine in the USA

In fact, it does require a hunt, even here in NZ.

Of course, if you live in a State which allows its citizenry to import
wines directly, then one 'could' arrange a bottle or two to be purchased
here in NZ and shipped via air-express etc to the USA !!!!!

--

st.helier

Thank you again for the recommend - an excellent wine, and I really do
wish it was available here. Alas ...

In keeping with the Viognier theme of recent days, last night we
opened a bottle of an '05 Domaine des Cantarelles Viognier, from the
Languedoc (vin du pays du Gard). An interesting compare and contrast;
had an excellent nose, with peach, citrus, and something sweet - like
a honeysuckle. But the palate was very different than the Villa Maria
- this wine has seen some oak, and while there wasn't any trace on the
nose, the wine was more subdued on the palate, lacking the crispness
that the Villa Maria had, but still had the lingering heat of a high
alcohol wine. Very nice - and a good value at $15 - but I'd recommend
the Villa Maria over this one anytime.

Hope all is well down under - cheers!



In article >
> wrote:

> Hi Ric,

> Glad you enjoyed this wine: sounds like a great accompaniment to the
> salmon/asparagus too!

> Villa Maria classify/market their wines at four differing levels.

> The "Single Vineyard" range (to which this viognier belongs) is
> their top range; and is made in the smallest volumes, so I do believe
> that it will be near on impossible to source this wine in the USA

> In fact, it does require a hunt, even here in NZ.

> Of course, if you live in a State which allows its citizenry to
> import wines directly, then one 'could' arrange a bottle or two to be
> purchased here in NZ and shipped via air-express etc to the USA !!!!!

> --

> st.helier







--
I'm using an evaluation license of nemo since 99 days.
You should really try it!
http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo