Viognier? More like, “Viogn-yay!” Today we’re reviewing a fruit-packed, exquisitely floral Viognier from veteran Rhône winemaker Philippe Jaboulet (and son). The Jaboulets sold their renowned family business Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aîné in 2006, retained a few small plots, and have since started a new life as independent winemakers.
So this is no trend-chasing, clumsily made Viognier. It’s made by experts on this grape and it shows. (Hats off to April for the recommendation.) I’ve had some bad luck with Viogniers lately–too many soft and soulless New World attempts–and this bottle was just the thing to break that streak.
This lusciously textured wine pours up pale gold. Honestly, it was too dark in the bar for me to note the color, so we’ll just go with that. But it does have Viognier’s signature viscosity, along with a pleasant waxy aroma. The Rhône-heads at The Wine Authority were all over this wine. A few Chardonnay drinkers were keen on it, too, due to its fruitiness and fullness of body.
The florals on this sucker are crazy intense, all baby’s breath and angel farts. White blossoms and cut flower stems. Honeysuckle, beeswax…really anything you might daydream about in a Viognier, and then some.
We started with a cold bottle then savored it as it warmed up, evolving from a pocketful of posies to millions of peaches, peaches for me. Chilling this wine masks its unctuous texture somewhat–but not its aromatics, which waft from the glass at any temperature.
I adore very flowery wines, especially dry styles. It’s such a mindfuck to get a noseful of nectar-sweet aromas, and then instead of flowers and honey, you have your palate slapped with the evaporative sensation of booze. It reminds me of that one 5th-grade slumber party where we were playing truth-or-dare and I let my friend Chelsea spray her mom’s bottle of Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds into my mouth…but in a good way.
Phillipe et Vincent’s Viognier is made from 100% Viognier from the Rhône’s right bank. The Northern Rhône–most notably the commune of Condrieu–is the traditional home of Viognier.
So, this wine is basically Condrieu, but the vines are located outside of the Condrieu AOC. So they have to use the broader IGP appellation Collines Rhodaniennes. It’s like when you tell people you’re from Houston, but you actually grew up in The Woodlands, and generally speaking, it’s totally fine to say you’re from Houston because most people will know where in the world that place is–except for those times that you realize that you’re talking to an actual Houstonian and then you have to walk it back and just say you’re also from Texas because people from inside the city limits look down on the suburbs and don’t even get me started on the exurbs, because if you’ve been saying you’re from Houston but you’re really from as far away as Conroe or Beaumont, nobody’s gonna trust anything you have to say for the rest of the conversation…and yeah, I think France’s AOC system is kinda a bit like that.
Condrieu is often carefully fermented and/or matured in oak for up to five years, but this one is a young wine with no oak influence. It’s aged for six months in stainless steel to preserve its delicate character. It is a gorgeous wine and a bargain, considering it’s hard to find Condrieu for under $60 bucks and not everybody agrees that Viognier benefits from oak or aging.
I can’t weigh in on that controversy, because there’s no risk of this wine bottle-aging in my house. Drink it with fruit and cheese, drink it for dessert, buy it for your date instead of flowers–this romantic and expressive Rhône Viognier is beauty in a glass.
Bottle: Domaine Philippe et Vincent Jaboulet Viognier (2022)
Variety: Viognier (100%)
ABV: 13%
Suggested retail: $25.99
My rating: 8.8 (out of 10)
Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review. Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.
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