Charles Smith Wines Stoneridge Vineyard Viognier 2009
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Wine Enthusiast
A Burgundian take on Viognier, barrel fermented in 30% new French oak, put through M-L, and aged 18 months in barrel. Predictably dark and smooth, with a rich mix of soft, ripe stone fruit and barrel flavors. It's a bold style, showing plenty of toast and oak, but also concentrated and peachy, with lemon verbena, Key lime and a hint of honey.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Charles Smith Viognier Stoneridge Vineyard was barrel-fermented in 33% new oak. Light gold in color, it offers up an alluring perfume of banana and other tropical fruits. Creamy-textured, beautifully proportioned, and substantial, Viognier does not get much better than this (and I include Condrieu in that statement).
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.