Spring Release Wild Mountainside Viognier
2018

Winemaker’s Notes

We’ve been growing and bottling Viognier since I stumbled upon a single acre of young vines below our Eddie’s Patch Syrah site in 2000. Eighteen years later we have arrived at this beauty. Great Viognier should be a deep, rich mouth-filling wine that stirs the senses. The trick is to harvest with just enough acidity to provide a counterbalance to all the concentration. In 20 years of researching (drinking!) the world’s finest Viogniers, I humbly submit that this is among a handful of the greatest.

Concentration, intensity, power, delicacy and length like this can only be achieved with mature vines planted in poor mountainside soils and cropped to extremely low yields. Then, it takes a legendary vintage to bring everything together. The magnificent Timbervine and Hoppe-Kelly vineyards are perfect partners. We harvested both on the same day, slowly pressing and co-fermenting the complementary fruit. The blend expresses the viscosity and weight we expect, but also a lingering, saline freshness that typifies the greatest Viogniers.

One senses the wine’s concentration on its aromas alone: fresh apricot, white lily, white peach and tense minerals with an edge of spearmint and white pepper. The powerful entry, tangy and deep, coats the palate with honeyed nectarine and oily lemon zest flavors. The lovely combination of viscosity and lift lingers long through the finish.

Drink this magical wine over the next three years.

Andy Smith