Jenise wrote:Deborah, yes I've had Yalumba Y in the past and though not the 05, if it's true to style the wine is less ripe (so, more acid and less perfumey) than most American viogniers, and I believe it's an unwooded wine to boot. Very refreshing, and it competes at the McManis level. The Zaca Mesa I've not had in years, but that winery on the whole goes for a juicy, fruit forward style and if I've understood the weather in that area correctly, 05 should have been a good year for viognier. FWIW, the best $10 or under viognier I've probably ever had was by RH Phillips, another California winery but this time from the Sacramento area (I can't think of the name of the region, might be Dundee Hills). Others have spoken well of it in other vintages so I know they're fairly consistent. Would be one to try if you can get your hands on it.
Thanks very much for the feedback, Jenise, I appreciate it as I really wanted to drink several viogniers that were true to style and was unsure of where I may be headed. As I mentioned in the post above to Bob, I am still looking forward to trying the Yalumba Y series viognier, but it sounds like I will enjoy the Zaca Mesa which the retailer kindly included in my case order gratis as he could not supply me with the Yalumba. Thanks also for the heads up on RH Phillips' viognier..I'm off to wine searcher right away!
By the time we are done with all of these wines, we will definitely know our viogniers!