viognier

BRILLIANT WHITES FROM LISMORE REVISITED

We have covered a lot of ground during our wine journey, but there are some stories that are so unique and remarkable that they should not be forgotten. Lismore is one of those. California native and former T.V. writer Samantha O’Keefe, along with her husband at the time, made the conscious decision to get away from it all, and managed to end up about as far from Southern California as one could imagine…into the mountains in the area of Greton in South Africa where they fell in love with a visually spectacular site named Riversonderend, a 300-hectare property that was a dairy ranch.

It had never been a wine farm, nor had Samantha ever made wine, but the connection subsequently became serendipitous. The place was, as Sam put it, ‘an hour past nowhere’. From the farm, for example, it is more than an hour’s drive just to get groceries. But the couple decided this remote, untested area would be an excellent place to grow grapes.

The challenges were enormous, so much so that Sam’s husband made an early exit. O’Keefe built a house and a winery, and the vineyards were planted in 2003. The first commercial release was 2008. The Overberg region is unique in South African viticulture as it is a particularly cool growing area, with grapes taking as much as 3 to 4 weeks longer to mature. The combination of cool temperatures and altitude was a unique and emerging trend in South Africa. This particular project just happened the furthest out. As it turned out, Riversonderend was particularly suited for four of the five grapes Sam planted.

Besides the normal array of issues like weather and disease that can face any vintner, this distinct plot of land had a few additional challenges. Because this was a remote, even somewhat ‘wild’ area, the threat from abundant numbers of voracious birds to the final crop added more uncertainty. There was even another ‘wild card’ to this winery’s story that we can’t recall ever hearing in all of our years doing this…baboons. Yes, baboons. Apparently they show up in numbers when the crop is reaching optimum time to pick. Samantha says they are good indicators of when it is time to harvest. The place even burned down thanks to a wildfire reportedly set by two children.

You’ve got to admire her chutzpah. But she is still at it and her newest releases are once again completely unique and absolutely brilliant. Samantha says she is trying to emulate a top drawer Meursault stylistically. Mission accomplished. The Lismore Chardonnay Estate 2021 has plenty of that resiny, nutty, spicy character running through her intensely flavored Chardonnay to make you think of the Cote d’Or, yet there is an element to the peach/apple fruit that sets it apart from most of the world’s Chardonnays. It is a Chardonnay that can hold its own with virtually any produced on the planet.

Nice notes from the somewhat stingy Neal Martin as well, “94 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Estate Reserve is 100% from Greyton matured for 11 months in 500-litre barrels, 40% new. It has a wonderful bouquet with honeydew melon, apricot blossom and light crushed stone scents that percolate through with time. The palate is very well balanced with tropical hints of passion fruit and guava, but the acidity keeps everything on a tight course, very minerally on the finish. Top class…94 points.”

The story of the Lismore Viognier Age of Grace 2022 is similar. This has everything a great Condrieu has in terms of personality but boasts the kind of backbone acidity that seems virtually impossible for this fussy varietal. The nose has the classic floral, peach, brown spice, floral, and honey tones you expect from Viognier, but seemingly flashing a bit more energy than most versions. All of those flavors reveal themselves on the palate but with an unexpected verve.

Martin was a fan of this one as well, “The 2021 Viognier The Age of Grace comes from Sutherland and Bot River, whole bunch pressed with 11 months on the lees using 15% concrete eggs. With pretty white peach and Mirabelle scents on the nose, this takes time to blossom, but it never fully lets go. The palate is medium-bodied with a gorgeous dried apricot, mango and spicebox entry, nothing blowsy here with a very focused, almost understated finish. Excellent…93+ points!

The conclusion is the same. These whites, from a remote place that never grew grapes before made by someone who came in with no winemaking background, can stand alongside any example we can think of. They aren’t cheap, but the prices given the quality and the hardship, are more than justifiable. How did this come about? We certainly can’t explain it. But if you think we’re saying that these wines from the middle of nowhere in South Africa deserve a place alongside Condrieus, Meursaults, and Montrachets, we absolutely are. And, relative to things like that, they are relative bargains, baboons notwithstanding.

We’d be naive to think that enough people would listen to our rant and buy buckets of these wines. Changing the thinking in the wine world has long been an uphill battle. Heck, not that much of this stuff is produced in the first place. But Lismore is a unique and solitary endeavor that deserves serious attention.

ONE OF A KIND CALI WHITE

Wine is an industry that casts a broad net, from extreme traditionalists to incurable tinkerers, and all points in between. On the more experimental end of the biz, there are plenty of ‘thrills of victory’ and even more ‘agonies of defeat’. But it is through this process of innovation and experimentation that new ideas are born. Take for example Dave Phinney, who essentially turned a stuck fermentation into one of the most important new faces in the wine industry years ago, The Prisoner, via clever blending and creative marketing. There are dozens of wineries now trying to reproduce the success of that wine with a variety of ‘Prisoner look-alikes’.

Today’s story isn’t about Prisoner, or even a widely imitated bottling. We’ll get to that shortly. Wine Exchange and Qupe Winery connected in the early 80’s when both were pretty new on the scene. With all of the fuss about the California ‘Rhone Rangers’ years back, a lot of folks credit Randall Grahm with founding the movement. But the first winery we ever tasted that hung their hat on Syrah, circa 1982-83, was Qupe. Even today those early, breakthrough Syrah bottlings still have a place in how we see California wine history.

Qupe owner at the time, Bob Lindquist, worked in a spot affectionately known as ‘the Shed’ along with Au Bon Climat and, over the years, a number of other aspiring winemakers in Santa Maria. Besides his Syrah lineup, and a consistently good Chardonnay from Sierra Madre Vineyard, we credit Bob with creating a wine that was both innovative and delightful, a 50-50 blend of Viognier and Chardonnay. Fresh, bright, and floral from the Viognier, with the midpalate thrust and structure provided by the Chardonny, it was a winner and we sold buckets of the stuff.

Our key point is that we had never seen anything like it before, nor effectively since (yeah there was one Viognier- Chardonnay from southern France some years later, but that was it). Bob visited the store not long ago with his newest efforts from his current project, Lindquist Wines (he sold Qupe in part to Terroir Wines who sold it to Vintage Wine Estates). Among the wines he presented was a 50-50 blend of Viognier and Chardonnay under the Lindquist label. This was once again as exciting as the first efforts we tasted way back when.

The harmony and interplay between the floral, honeysuckle, and peach aspects of Vioginer and the punch of the apple/pear core of the early harvest Chardonnay through the midpalate made for a delightful mouthful, with layers of varied flavors, plenty of weight and lift, and uncanny freshness for a wine of that composition. To us, the Quoe was a breakthrough blend back in the day, and the Lindquist Family Viognier-Chardonnay Bland Edna Valley 2019 still is. Bob was quick to give credit for the idea to mutual favorite Mas Dumas Gassac. But in that wine, Viognier and Chardonnay account for only about half the blend, the balance being Petit Manseng, Chenin Blanc, and ‘other’. This is a delicious, truly one-of-a-kind white.

Antonio Galloni apparently shares our enthusiasm for this very special blend, “The 2019 Viognier 50%/Chardonnay 50% is another terrific wine in this range from Bob Lindquist. Interestingly, the blend of Viognier and Chardonnay yields a wine that is crisp and steely. Viognier aromatics add an intriguing layer of florality to the citrus peel, crushed rock and white pepper flavors. I would prefer to drink this steely white over the next few years, while the flavors remain bright. The 2019 is incredibly distinctive…93 points.”

There don’t appear to be many (any?) folks trying to imitate this gem, but that’s fine as long as this one performs at this level. There is, literally, nothing like it. As for comparisons, Mas Dumas white also costs nearly twice as much. For under $20, the Lindquist Family is a particularly compelling choice.

RARE ‘LOCAL’ VIOGNIER VALUE

As we have said many times, Viognier is a cruel mistress to begin with, particularly here in California. There is a magic place where there’s just the right touch of acidity supporting expressive, layered, highly spiced, fleshy fruit. But most of the time, the varietal fails to hit that mark, either falling lean and short on the fruit end or, more often, coming out a flabby mass of overripe, directionless fruit. In all fairness to the winemakers, hitting that narrow ‘sweet spot’ in the varietal profile is extremely difficult. But when it does, it is a special treat.

If you had told us that one of the most striking Viognier buys to come along from California in many years came from Paso Robles, we ‘d have had a hard time believing it. But the proof was in the glass. The San Simeon Viognier Stefano Vineyard 2018 delivered beautifully nuanced, classically varietal, even bright varietal fruit. The nose was subtly infused with that floral, honeysuckle, and peach character that we associate with top flight efforts of this varietal from the northern Rhone. The fruit is tender and round, but has the required ‘sizzle’ to deliver that special character that makes people fans of the varietal in the first place.

A good part of the game here is location. The Stefano Vineyard is located in the El Pomar District AVA of Paso Robles. Yeah, it’s warm here, but there is great maritime influence via the cool afternoon breezes from the Templeton Gap. The area’s Arbuckle-Positas soils are filled with multicolored rocks of all shapes and sizes and there are steep hillsides that naturally control vine vigor. During 2018, the weather was ideal with a long growing season that provided great “hang time” for the grapes. That allows the flavors to develop slowly and steadily while maintaining the tension in the juice to keep everything lifted. It all came together in 2018.

The juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks at 55˚ F for several weeks. The long, cold fermentation process preserves the delicate flavors and aromas of this variety. Immediately after the fermentation, 12% of the wine was transferred

to neutral French oak barrels in which the lees were stirred for several months to add texture and depth. The result is this personality-filled, unfettered, expressive, unpretentiously joyful white.

Since we decided we were going to promote this tasty example, we jumped into our usual research. We were a little surprised to find a 92 point score from Wine Spectator only because Wine Spectator typically doesn’t hand out scores like that on domestic Viogniers (Sauvignon Blancs also have a upper limit on scores but that’s another story). We set our Spectator ratings query at ‘Viogniers that got 92 point scores and cost less than $30 over the last three years’. There were three…this one, one from Alban, and a French Collines Rhodaniennes from the Northern Rhone.

When we narrowed the Spectator search to the last 12 months, the San Simeon Viognier was an ‘army of one’. How’s that for rarity? The words were inviting as well as Spectator clearly had the same impression we did. They wrote, “Powerful and elegant, featuring peach cobbler, ripe melon and dried apricot flavors that are rich and concentrated, set on a light and lithe frame, with bright and juicy acidity. Finishes with details of white flowers. Drink now.”

We’re all about that last part, ‘drink now’. This is bright enough to enjoy with the lighter fare of the season or entertain a broad audience as an aperitif all by itself. For our part, with a little help from the current times, we were able to work a bit with the $24 list price. Like we said, it’s hard enough to find a really engaging Viognier at all, let alone for less than $15!

CUILLERON: VIOGNIER AND FRIENDS

We are huge fans of Viognier, and consider Condrieu (and Ch. Grillet, the small monopole, of course) to be the unrivaled source for great examples of the varietal. We have also told the story many times about how difficult this grape can be. There is a narrow band of success where all of the components work in harmony. Harvest too early and the wines are lean and lack varietal definition, the aromatics that are an important part of the Viognier experience aren’t there, and neither is the required midpalate. Harvest too late and the acids fall back and the wine is dull and flabby. Harvest at the perfect time and you’ll be dealing with voracious birds and hornets that also have a deep love of this enticing, aromatic varietal.

So if it’s that hard, if the margin of error is so slim, why does anyone bother? Because when it hits the mark Condrieu is a singular experience. Of course for most of us it can be cost prohibitive too, which merely piles on to an already difficult success rate. Yet, with few exceptions, there’s no place like Condrieu. What is a lover of Viognier to do? Our solution has been to pay close attention to the ‘smaller’ efforts from some of the top vignerons in the region. One of our favorite sources over the years has been Yves Cuilleron.

He makes great Condrieus on a consistent basis (no small feat) and excellent examples from other villages in the northern Rhone with Marsanne and Roussane. But what has been a repeat performer in our minds is his Viognier Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018. Yeah, tough name for the non-French but we’ll boil the words down so you get a feel. By Vin de Pays, the bottle is telling you that some or all of the juice comes from vines not in official designated appellations. In the upper reaches of the hills in the northern Rhone they give it those ‘outside the boundary’ efforts the catchy name Collines Rhodannienes (there are both white and red versions from various ‘no man’s land’ parcel all about the north).

The Viognier for this cuvée is sourced from vineyards planted in granite-infused soil in the village of Chavanay. The grapes are fermented with their natural yeasts and done in stainless steel to protect the wine’s freshness. It then sees 6 months in a combination of steel and neutral oak barrels to round out. The result is usually pretty engaging, but in 2018 they absolutely nailed it. Perfectly proportioned, this 14% alcohol white sits comfortably atop the right touch of uplifting acidity. Everything is fresh and expressive, with the subtly meshed peach, honeysuckle and mineral nose a perfect invitation to the peach, pear, spice and faintly honeyed palate.

Rich, yet at the same time light on its feet, it achieves just the right balance. This one could probably pass for Condrieu in most circles yet it can be had for a touch over $20, well under the usual $50-80 that most Condrieus, both great and small, command. How does it compare to the domestic versions one sees for this kind of price? It’s not even close. The harmony and expressiveness puts is in a league of its own. If you like Condrieu, buy this. If you like Viognier, buy this. If you want to know what Viognier is supposed to taste like, this will show you. A supremely pleasing effort.

It seems Yves had a fine season in 2018 overall, for the whites anyway. Everything we were presented showed uniformly tender up front, with bright, lifted fruit and freshness. While the Viognier is our go-to, his Collines Rhodannienes (‘outside the lines’) efforts with Marsanne and Roussanne were extremely successful as well.

So often, Roussanne can be kind of clumsy and oxidative. But the Cuilleron Roussanne Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018 is none of that. To be honest, it was such a fresh, tender effort, we didn’t necessarily think Roussanne at first. What a pleasing effort this was, a mélange of citrus, pear and stone fruit with a wisp of earth and mineral to speak of its origins.

Their delightful Cuilleron Marsanne Vin de Pays Collines Rhodannienes Les Vignes d’a Coté 2018 presents yellow melon, pear, and yellow apple flavors punctuated with a bit of dusty minerality that plays only as a nuance to the fruit component. It’s rare to find Marsanne with this much personality and lift

If you want to step up to a ‘real’ Condrieu, Cuilleron’s Condrieu La Petite Cote 2018 is an ‘A-game’ performance for a rather modest buy-in for the genre, and demonstrates the expressive floral and honey notes admirably. Saint-Peray is an insiders’ appellation and not widely known but Cuilleron has a deft touch and his Les Potier 2018 is a blend of Marsanne and Roussanne that flashes layered pear fruit with a lot of nuance underneath. A charmer.

White northern Rhones aren’t necessarily the first whites people think of. But this lineup is so expressive it could do a lot to change all of that.

A VIOGNIER TALE

We wanted this remarkable tale to be available to search and keep the wine available for as long as we can so we republished here in the Stock Report.

We have been telling stories about wine for nearly four decades. But few rival that of former T.V. writer, California native Samantha O’Keefe. It all started when Sam and her then husband decided they wanted to get away. No, not like those old airline commercials where they just leaves for a vacation. This was moving out of California to ‘someplace else’ with the intent of going on a great life ad venture. After a journey, the couple, with a baby, ended up in South Africa, just about as far away as one could get from Southern California.

They ended up driving into the mountains in the area of Greton and falling in love with a visually spectacular site named Riversonderend, a 300-hectare property that was a dairy ranch. It had never been a wine farm, nor had Sam ever made wine, but the connection subsequently became serendipitous. This was literally the ‘middle of nowhere’, or as Sam put it in an interview we did here, ‘an hour past nowhere’. From the farm, for example, it is more than an hour’s drive just to get groceries. But the couple decided this remote, untested area would be an excellent place to grow grapes. Turned out to be a good call.

It seems a mighty task to make wine in such a place, but the quality and distinctiveness of the juice has fueled the passion to succeed. Another local vintner visited Samantha and tasted the Viognier out of barrel, proclaiming it the best he had ever tasted from South Africa. We are huge fans of Viognier, and consider Condrieu (and Ch. Grillete of course) to be the unrivaled source for great examples of the varietal. We have also told the story many times about how difficult the grape can be. There is a very narrow band of success where all of the components work in harmony. But, like the man said, Lismore Viognier is very special. The fruit shimmers, and the spice, honeysuckle, florality, and vanillan tones are all super expressive as well as remarkably well meshed and driven by just the right cut of acidity.

Enthusiastic notes from Vinous’ Neal Martin, who spends a lot of time tasting verticals of Latour and Romanee Conti and who could arguably be understandably jaded, speak volumes, “The 2017 (Lismore) Estate Reserve Viognier is matured for 15 months in barrel (20% new oak). It has a seductive and very well-defined bouquet, with dried honey, mirabelle and light apricot blossom scents developing with aeration. The well-balanced palate is clean and precise, displaying fine delineation and a captivating mineral-driven finish that is top-drawer. Quite brilliant… 96 Points.”

Quite brilliant, indeed. For us to say something could hold its own with top flight Condrieu, while still maintaining it unique notion of terroir, is about as high a compliment as we could pay any effort with this varietal. This one could. While all of the Lismore wines were ‘top-drawer’, it was the Viognier that got our attention. Both the story and the wine deserved time in the limelight, particularly given the fortuitous unfolding of events that brought this unique project together and the tenacity with which Sam, with her two children, has manned this unique vinous outpost. It was always our intent to do a feature on her wine, but events conspired to move us to up the timetable and commitment .

As it happened, Sam’s amazing estate was mostly destroyed last December in a wildfire believed to have been set by two children. Given that, our mission to spread the word has been amplified. We want to sell as much of her Viognier as we can to support this tenacious pioneer in whatever she decides to do next. Great story, exceptional wine, and now a cause, it’s one of the most compelling tales we have ever told.