Fess Parker Viognier '06

Country: USA
Region: California
Thoughts: It seems like time and again, I hit on the same varietals - chard, pinot grigio and maybe a couple others. Viognier's peen pretty under represented; this makes only the fourth one I've had in our grand experiment. Perhaps there's a reason for it: None of them have scored terribly high. But, always one to get back on the horse, we pushed forward with the Fess Parker offering, served up the by the folks at Restaurant 3. (Truth be told, our first option, a pinot blanc from Alsace, was sold out.) This was my father-in-law's pick, and it went nicely with the wonderful food at R3. In the nose and in taste, it had a defining oaky characteristic, not unlike one would expect to find with certain chardonnays. It certainly changed the wine profile on a larger scale, I thought; the oakiness helped make it a little more low key - mellow seemed too strong a description - with an underriding dryness. It was an excellent wine to sip, and made dinner and conversation all the more enjoyable.
Do-over? So far, it's the best of the viogniers, so yes
Final Grade: B+