Diffrent styles of Viognier from GHW/GM

[Josh Patt]

Wine Route had a tasting of Golan Heights and Galil Mountain wineries tonight. Besides the new Galil Mountain Barbera (which I posted about on another thread), the most interesting thing was tasting the different Viognier wines produced by these two wineries.

I tried the 2007 Galil Mountain Viognier, 2006 Galil Mountain Avivim (a Viognier - Chardonnay blend) and the 2006 Yarden Viognier one after the other.
2007 Galil Mountain Viognier - Crisp clean and dry with tropical fruit and a bit of spice. Though it has the concentrated tropical fruit of Viognier and is high in alcohool, it still feels light and refreshing in the mouth.

2006 Galil Mountain Avivim - Heavily perfumed with fruity and floral notes. Rich and creamy in the mouth (here you notice the Chardonnay, though the Viognier is still dominant). They used a heavy hand with the wood and it shows, making the wine less elegant and even a bit clumsy. This is a big white for thoose who like their wine rich and creamy.
BTW, I don't see why winemakers blend Viognier with other white grapes; the Viognier completely overpowers anything else.

2006 Yarden Viognier - Flowery and fruity with a touch of spice. The acidity balances well with the wood and fruit to give a long mouth-filling wine with a refreshing dry finish.

It's amazing how very different these three wines are. They're all made from Viognier, two of them in the same winery.
Though it's the simplest, in some ways I like the Galil Mountai Viognier the best. Though the truth is that these wines are so different it's hard to pick a fovorite - it really depends on when and with what and whom you want to drink them.

Josh

[Jonathan K]

Indeed very different styles. And I was a bigger fan of the Galil Mountain stylle. Until I tried the Yarden 2006. I think this is a serious viognier that recalls a Rhone wine and to me that is a first from Israeli viognier. In general I prefer the Galil Mountain style but I thought the 2006 Yarden Viognier was something else. Very nice to have both styles available in Israeli Viognier.

[Menach N]

I hope you dont mind, but can i have a little crash course on what kind of a grape is the "Viognier" and how/what does it differ from the chardonnay and savignon blancs,
i had an impression that was something sweet, dessert like wine.
chiedendo perdono,
Please and Thank you
best
Menach

[David Raccah]

Viognier is a white grape all right, but it is closer in style to a Chardonnay than to a Sauvignon Blanc.

All wines can be operated on - but classically these are the styles that the white wines have:

1) The Sauvignon Blanc - can be as clean lined and crisp as a Sancerre and become fat and a bit ugly like in California, and everything in between. Still the classic lines of a Sauvignon Blanc are crisp clean lines, with intense fruit and floral flavors. If picked early there is more green, if picked too late there is more of a fruit bomb which winemakers turn into a fat wine because of all the sugars - or manipulate it by decreasing the alcohol. It is commonly high in acid and is not meant for a long shelf life - though many a Sancerre have lived long lives - mostly because of the crazy acid and mineral characteristics that come from the Terroir.

2) The Chardonnay is the wine that we all know and can have many different lines. It is a grape which by its nature is screaming to be modified. The grape loses its crispness early on as it ripeness but in its place comes the weight, fruit, and body. The more oak that is applied the more toast, espresso, smoke, and spice flavors get introduced. The grape has less acid as it ripeness but gains more fruit. This is the real quandary with Chardonnay - when do you pick it? When it sits on the vine for too long you get a ton of fruit, little or no acid and high alcohol. To counter act that wineries will dealcoholize the wine and add pH as well. Again - Chardonnay is a grape that is screaming to be managed. However, when done correct you can either get nice green and floral wine with less acidity than Sauv Blanc, but still enough to hold the wine up and enough fruit to carry the day. Or you can make it California style and lose the acid but gain nice weight and body (from the fruit, alcohol, and oak) - but pH added still tastes fake to me.

3) The Viognier grape/wine is a different beast. It is a wine that has distinct characteristics: perfume, floral notes and acidity, but it is a very picky grape. It is very easy to lose to mold and because of this wineries will plant roses next to the grape vines to act as a canary for detecting mildew early on. The grape needs to be picked late otherwise, it does not give the classic perfume that we get from the muscat and Riesling grapes. Depending on if the wine maker puts the wine through malolactic fermentation (to give it a bit more weight) or let the wine lie in the must (to give it more perfume) or to let it have a bit of wood to give it roundness. In the end, the wine is not meant for long storage - hence the VERY early release dates on these wines and the wine should have the acidity, fruit, and perfume to make it a real winner.

Best Wishes!

[David Raccah]

Just as a follow - Josh's notes almost tell the way that the winemaker managed the fruit and wine for each release.

If the grape is left long on the vine it loses the perfume characteristics and gets more fruit and acid. When picked to early it is flat and green. By the higher alcohol - it sounds like the grapes may have been picked to late to have the perfume (in the pure Viognier varietals). The Avivim may not have had enough fruit and such required the blend.

All of this is conjecture, but the shame is to have a Viognier that lacks perfume and a strong acid core. The full body can be added with oak - but at a cost of the crispness. Finally, the age of the vines also tell a tale of what grapes will be produced.

Best Wishes

[Josh Patt]

Thanks all for the complements on my notes.

Finally, the age of the vines also tell a tale of what grapes will be produced.

I guess that all the vines are young because Viognier hasn't been aroung in Israel for more than a few years.

Is the age of the vines as significant for white grapes as it is for red?

Josh

[Menach N]

David, wow , Thank you !!
much apriciated
best...
Menach