Coaxing out the sensual qualities of the perfumed viognier grape: comparing a new vintage with my tasting notes from the previous year and finding a big improvement.

Young and Seductive

 George Saintsbury, a distinguished man of letters at Oxford, was also an expert on wine and a genial gossip.  “Notes On a Cellar Book” which he published in 1920, is a minor classic that charmingly links us to another generation.  I sometimes like to browse a few pages of his writing, especially with a glass in hand, enjoying the references to ’75 or ‘84 or ’96 vintages—referring of course to the 1800s.

 While Professor Saintsbury was more erudite and articulate than most wine collectors of his time, he was probably typical in aging (or “laying down” as the British say) a large number of wines from good vintages.  The British, even now, tend to value older wines, while Americans, French and other Europeans don’t hesitate to open younger bottles.

 Some wines, most notably the classified Crus of Bordeaux, require aging, but the overwhelming majority of wines produced today are meant for early drinking.  One general though certainly not inflexible rule is that inexpensive wines should be consumed in their sprightly youth while expensive wines are more likely to improve with maturity.

 The choices are not always clear cut, however.  Certain important white wines age well, but most of us buy whites for immediate and casual drinking.  How then do you treat the contradictions inherent in a white wine from the viognier grape?  It’s usually an important and often expensive wine, but clearly best when young, and rarely as good even a few years after bottling.

 I think the answer is to say that a young viognier—the right young viognier—can be worth $30 or more.  The celebrated Condrieu from the northern Rhone are often priced much higher.  There are some cheaper and decent New World versions, in the $15 range, so a bit of experimentation might be worthwhile.  Getting a top-flight one, matching it with the right foods, and paying attention to its seductive qualities, is a rare pleasure worth the extra few dollars.

 Having enjoyed a bottle of Bedell Cellars Viognier 2002 last summer, I was curious about the release last week of their 2003 vintage.  I got out my tasting notes from last year, and called Chris Harris, my tasting bud from that last bottle (and one of the people who follows Professor Saintsbury’s custom of cellaring large quantities of wine), and opened the 2003.

 We both agreed it was a delicious and very well balanced wine.  With a bouquet of peaches, melon and apricots, and undertones of jasmine and perhaps hawthorn, the fragrance was heady but delicate.  With a medium body and genuine complexity for such a young wine, it had a haunting quality and a long, satisfying finish.  This new vintage was decidedly different from last year’s, based on my notes.  The 2002, while supple and well made, was lighter in color, more muted in its aromas and restrained in its layers of taste.

 The winemaker, I think, has found a greater confidence working with this difficult grape, and with the newer vintage produced a distinctive wine that like a classic Condrieu coaxes out the sensual qualities of the perfumed viognier grape.

 This is a wine for serious enjoyment rather than casual sipping.  It’s not an easy food match.  Mild, creamy cheeses, room temperature salads, egg dishes, and peach and pear desserts would all be perfect.  Be careful about strong flavors and temperature extremes.  Even the wine itself should not be overly chilled.  It is rich and aromatic enough to sip as a digestif, at least in summer.

 The Bedell 2003 is priced at $29 at the winery, up from last year’s $21.  But there is a lot more passion and potency in the bottle this time.