Viognier Review: Angoves 2009 Nine Vines from Australia
This Viogner review is courtesy of the Wine School of Philadelphia and Bacchus Selections.
Hands down, this is the bargain sipper of the moment. Typical Viognier aromas of peach and perfume are on the nose, along with a trace of nutmeg. The attack is round and lush: it’s boasting a creamy weight that turns a touch sweet. The flavor transform into trail mix –dried peaches, nuts, apple—and then comes back with jasmine and lilies. It finishes with a refreshing note of fresh peach. A lovely bottle of Viognier for the price, although a bit heavy for a summer day.
Angoves is one of the oldest wineries in Australia, dating back to 1892, and is still family owned. The “Nine Vines” label is their value line, and for the most part does a very good job of keeping quality levels high. The name is an homage to the surviving nine grapoe vines from the winery’s original vineyard in Adelaide, South Australia.
About Viognier, via Wikipedia. This shy bearing variety was until relatively recently restricted to a small northern part of the Rhône Valley, where it produced the famous wines of Condrieu and Château Grillet. Despite the fact that this variety crept to Australia inside the seventies, the particular explosion did not occur prior to the the 19 nineties in Languedoc-Roussillon and California. At its best, Viognier features a lush, aromatic quality, with distinctive peachy character, but it is often over-oaked.
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