At the #InternationalViognierDay with Yalumba Wines, we sampled a number of great Aussie Viognier's including::
1. Yalumba Y series Viognier 2021 (available from Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s from £8.00)
2. Yalumba Organic Viognier (available from Waitrose and M&S from £9.99)
3. Yalumba Samuel’s Collection Eden Valley Viognier 2018 (available from VINVM, Flagship Wines and Taurus Wines from £17.00)
4. Yalumba The Virgilius 2018 (available from VINVM, Flagship Wines and Soho Wine Supply from £41.00) Yalumba wines are made by a female winemaker called Louisa Rose, or Lou to her friends. Louisa Rose is one of Australia’s best and most influential winemakers. She is the pioneering force behind the viognier grape variety in the country, a top wine judge and a multi-tasker like no other. Her winery Yalumba is a family-run business dating back to 1849 (making it among the oldest in Australia) with a vision to showcase the best of the Barossa Valley. If you follow an organic and vegan lifestyle you will Lou’s wines.
So what’s the difference between the four wines I’ve listed at the start of this blog? Well firstly, the age. You can see two different vintages - 2021 and 2018, with the older wine having had more potential for development and a higher chance the wine has been kissed by oak. This is why Viognier is such an incredible grape as you can spend £8 and get a brilliantly intense fruity but fresh and dry white wine that taste like apricot and fills the mouth with zing and flavour. The quality of viognier grapes always impresses me.
Yalumba The Virgilius 2018 is aged sensitively in oak and you get a much more food-friendly wine with more aromas like white pepper and fresh ginger. I love it when oak is used well - when you sip the wine your mouth is watering with effect of sourdough-like texture, almonds and more apricots. The trademark of Viognier is lusciousness and this wine is complex whist also showing beautiful fruit purity. You can sit and enjoy this wine all night.
Viognier originates from the Northern Rhone valley in an area called Condrieu and that’s what you will find on the label in France if you want viognier. Sadly this grape nearly became extinct because of war and unpopular and instead apricot trees were planted. It is thanks to an Englishman taking the vines to Australia that helped make Viognier in Australia famous. Big thanks for @StefantheSommelier_ms who was able to pair Asian dim sum flavours to the wine.