WTN: Domaine Barou Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes Viognier 2002

[Sue Courtney]

Made by Rhone producer Emmanuel Barou, this is not from Condrieu but very close as I believe this is from a vineyard just 'across the road'. Hence it is much, much cheaper.

Pale straw gold in colour with an aromatic scent reminding me of toasted nuts and lime zest and a palate that has a creamed nut and melted butter texture. Lifted, floral and spicy, subtle, delicate, clean and beautifully balanced with tantalizing flavours of fresh ripe apricot and orange water, the acids are soft and the finish is warm. There are hints of lemon grass and nutmeg as it lingers with understated power. It is dry to just off dry, the apparent sweetness may be coming from the fruit and there could be a smidgen of older oak adding complexity to the whole. This is evidently an 'organically produced' wine. It has 12.5% alcohol by volume, it has a synthetic closure (neocork, I think) and costs NZ$32 (approx US$20).

I matched the wine to a pan-fried fillet of John Dory - a delicate tasting fish for a delicate tasting wine. Loved it.

[Robin Garr]

Sue, <i>Collines Rhodaniennes</i> is just a fancy way of saying Cotes du Rhone - means the same thing, but more Latinate. It's pretty much any non-AOC region of the Rhone. But a specific vineyard certainly <i>could</i> be adjacent to Condrieu, they just couldn't advertise it on the label.

[Sue Courtney]

Hi Robin, I guess as Cotes du Rhone is AOC, it can't be used on non-AOC wines. The actual location of the wine was not on the label, although it was stated on material supplied by the distributor.

Cheers,
Sue

[Robin Garr]

I guess as Cotes du Rhone is AOC, it can't be used on non-AOC wines.

Right, exactly ... that's why the VdP uses a different term.

The actual location of the wine was not on the label, although it was stated on material supplied by the distributor.

There are lots of similar cases, and in some instances the non-AOC wine can make a good case. The Domaine Grand Veneur Cotes-du-Rhone, for instance, is literally just across a fence from Veneur's Chateuneuf-du-Pape vines, and all the critical elements - topography, sun exposure, geology - appear to be very much the same.