Winter Whites: Yalumba Viognier

In 1847 a brewer named Samuel Smith moved from England to South Australia with his wife and five children. Smith and his family settled in the small town of Angaston, which is located in the Eden Valley, in Barossa. It was here that Smith purchased 30 acres of land and in 1849 he planted their first vines. This planting was the beginning of the Yalumba legacy which has stretched across six generations.

I recently had a chance to watch a presentation from the Chief Winemaker at Yalumba, Louisa Rose, who has been with the winery since 1992. The presentation focused on Viognier (pronounced vee-OWN-yay), a grape variety that Louisa says took them about fifteen years to really sort out.

Viognier was first planted by Yalumba in 1980. Louisa explains that Viognier berries love the sunshine; the less shade, the better. Eden Valley typically has no rain during the summer with cool nights to maintain the acidity and aromatics in the grapes. Louisa says that initially they were picking the Viognier too early and that by allowing the grapes to ripen on the vine longer improved the quality of the fruit. Yalumba also switched to wild ferments with their Viognier, as they believe that the yeast and bacteria from the vineyard are a part of what makes the terroir.

I also learned that Viognier is naturally low in acidity and that it has quite phenolic skins, which is important for its structure and ageability. Viognier is extremely food friendly, pairing with everything from brunch, to Asian fare and Louisa Rose says that it can even pair with steak.

After learning about Yalumba and their journey with Viognier, it was fascinating to taste through four expressions of Viognier from this producer.

2018 This Virgilius ($70.98 Everything Wine)

The grapes for Virgilius hail from two vineyards in Eden Valley: Yalumba’s oldest Viognier vines planted in 1980 and a neighbouring vineyard of the same clone, which was planted in 1995. The grapes were handpicked before undergoing wild fermentation.

Yalumba is the only winery in the southern hemisphere to have their own cooperage. For Viognier, Yalumba only uses mature oak, which has been previously used several times. Virgilius was fermented and matured for 10 months in French oak barriques, puncheons and demi-muids. 

Upfront, the nose has mineral notes along with the aroma of raw pie dough made with vegetable shortening. Underneath there are soft notes of blossom, apricot and white pepper. This is a dry wine that is medium+ in body with medium acidity. The palate offers mineral notes, apricot, papaya, ginger and white pepper, with a savoury, nutty streak that runs through the wine and a medium+ finish.

2020 Eden Valley Viognier (31.98 Everything Wine)

The grapes for this wine were collected from eleven separate blocks, from seven different vineyards. The grapes underwent wild fermentation; 60% were in oak puncheons and barriques while the other 40% were in stainless steel. The wine spent 10 months on lees, while it was stored in a cold room to inhibit malolactic fermentation, so as not to reduce the acidity. 

This wine opens with aromas of sweet-smelling tree blossoms, followed by ginger, pink grapefruit rind, white pepper, apple, apricot and sweet pastry. This is a dry wine that is medium+ in body with medium acidity. The palate offers ginger, white pepper, grapefruit pith, apricot, white peach skin and bruised red apple with a briny, savoury medium+ finish.

2021 Organic Viognier ($22.98 Everything Wine)

This wine is certified organic. The grapes come from three different growers and they underwent wild fermentation; no oak was used. 

This wine opens with notes of mineral and petroleum followed by peach, blossom, hints of tangerine peel and bruised pineapple. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium acidity. The palate offers petrol/mineral notes alongside flavours of ginger, blossom, lemon and peach with a short finish.

2021 The Y Series Viognier ($19.99 Everything Wine and BC Liquor Stores)

The grapes for this Viognier were sourced from South Australia’s most celebrated wine regions. The grapes underwent wild fermentation and, in order to showcase the character of this grape variety, no oak was used.

Aromas of jasmine, hints of pineapple and tangerine, honeydew, apricot, dried grass and pear. This is a dry wine that is medium in body with medium acidity. The palate offers jasmine, tangerine, apricot and lemon with snow peas and baseball card bubble gum on the medium+ finish.

www.yalumba.com