Technicals:
Price: $10.99 at Costco
Where from? : 65% Mendocino County, 35% Lake County
Certified Organically Grown Grapes
Alcohol: 13.64%
Blend: Viognier 81%, Marsanne 10%, Roussane 4% and Muscat 5%
Aging: 4 months in 30% new French Oak.
Crisp and fairly light. The nose was not really that present, very slight honeysuckle is really all I could pick up. On the palate the dominant flavor is green apple with a little bit of peach, a very little bit. I don’t know why, but I was expecting something different. I suppose it’s because one of my favorite wines d’Arenberg’s Laughing Magpie is a blend of 90% Shiraz and 10% Viognier. It must be quite a different Viognier because I can’t see how green apple would go with Shiraz? I ended up not drinking much more than a glass of this wine on the first night. It’s not the wine’s fault, I was having steak for dinner which calls for Cabernet. But I did re-investigate Bonterra the next night while watching Olympic Hockey. And actually I liked it a lot more. I think I might have tried this one too close to the Grgich Hills Fume Blanc the day before. As a stand alone wine it’s quite good. Nice crisp green apple, virtually no oak, light. Just a nice decent afternoon sipper. With the added feel good bonus of having been made from Certified Organically Grown Grapes. I would pick this up for summer parties as an alternative to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Tim