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If you’re sick to death of Chardonnay and find Sauvignon and Riesling too acidic, then Viognier could be the next grape to try. It has a natural tendency towards high sugar, which means that wine is often on the fiery side, but the wines we tried were full enough in flavour to get away with it. Viognier is usually very fragrant - reminding people of peaches. For me, some of them are just a little too peachy and are more reminiscent of peach-scented bubble bath. The body is quite full, like a rich Australian Chardonnay, but with a tang of bitterness, like almonds.
Our favourite wine was one of the cheapest. The Boulders 2006, from California, is £4.99 at the Co-op. The smell was prettily peachy and later in the evening we picked up the faintest whiff of wood smoke. The taste was rich, like tropical fruit salad. We hunted around for a while and eventually Dianne hit the nail on the head with fruit salad chews. She was really on form.
Casillero del Diablo Viognier Reserva 2006, which is Chilean, is £5.99 at Sainsbury’s. Its marks were less than 1% lower than the Boulders. The aroma was lightly floral and it was very appealingly fruity in the mouth, with a touch of the expected bitterness on the finish. Clay Station 2005, which is from Lodi in California, is £7.99 from the Co-op. The smell is heady and rich, like cling peaches in syrup but also with a tang of marmalade which reminded me of Sauternes. The exotic smell continues into the mouth and although it’s most definitely dry it reminded us of Gewurztraminer.
My favourite wine, which the panel were less keen on, was d’Arenberg’s Hermit Crab 2005 from McLaren Vale in Australia. It had a rich, deep, oily, floral smell, which I found very appealing. The panel picked up drains on the nose, but I couldn’t find them. It had good acidity and general balance. It slipped down nicely after the panel had gone home.
We had two bottles of Yalumba Y Series. The 2007 is in Majestic and Waitrose, and Tesco are still on the 2006 – both are £6.99. The 2007 tasted quite a lot better. It smelt of peach shower gel and had nice lemon acidity with the typical bitter finish. The 2006 smelt and tasted rather dirty and Alex grimaced at the finish. Squashed in between the two of them was Zonte’s Footstep 2005, from Langhorne Creek in Australia and £7.99 from Sainsbury’s. Dianne thought it smelt of damp dog and enjoyed the fruity taste, but not the bitter finish.
I think the bottle of Las Moras 2005, which is £4.79 in the Co-op, was just exhausted. I’ve tried the 2005 and 2006 before and have judged them very good indeed for the money, when young. This one smelt of badly overripe pineapple and was oxidised in the mouth and had lost its fruit. It’s 3 years since the 2005 harvest in Argentina, which is a long time for a £4.79 wine.