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Phone: 1.88.CUVEE (28833)
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Phone: 1.88.CUVEE (28833)
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© 1999 - 2012 Amalie Robert Estate, LLC |
2007 Viognier
Viognier is the traditional white wine from Condrieu in the Northern Rhône valley of France. This variety develops beautiful and delicate aromatics with a rich unctuous mouth feel when grown in Oregon’s cool Willamette Valley. The wine was fermented at cool temperature in very small glass fermenters to retain its delicate aromatics, and did not undergo malo-lactic fermentation. Viognier is not a wine that typically continues to develop once in bottle. This wine is at its peak within a year of the vintage. The Vintage: the 2007 vintage was another example of cool climate viticulture. Our measure of this is degree days, or how much warmth the vines received. We registered below 1,900 degree days, the coolest year we have ever seen at Amalie Robert Estate.
The vines however, did not seem overly concerned. Bud break and bloom came as we have come to expect. Fruit set was not overloaded as we saw in 2006. This vintage brought considerable disease pressure to the Willamette Valley. We were fortunate to have been on top of the challenges for the year and had little incidence of compromised fruit. This in turn allowed us to let our fruit hang through the rains of early October. Harvest was “fast and furious” during the middle 2 weeks of October, and the Viognier was picked on November 7th. Tasting Notes: Brilliant straw in the glass introduces the delicate aromas of lemon grass, melon, and a hint of freshly grated ginger. The palate is bursting with ripe white nectarines, crisp tropical fruits and a rich unctuous mouth feel, finishing with balanced acidity. Suggested Food Pairings: We enjoy chilled Viognier as an aperitif in the afternoon or paired with seafood appetizers. Try sautéed scallops served in a duck broth reduction with sweet white corn. For added spice, steep a thinly sliced Habanero pepper in the broth for no more than 3 to 5 seconds. 14 cases produced. |
