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From the land of Austrailia comes this Viognier which proves to be rather light on the pocketbook at just under the $8 price and with it brings some interesting twists on the American Viogniers we’re more acustomed to.

There is absolutely no question that Austrailia really built its wine reputation with the wonderful Shiraz grape, however, there are other types of wine grapes which also do well in that part of the world. In this review we take a look at one of the more affordable Viognier offers from producer Oxford Landing.

Oxford Landing was established in 1958 near the Murray River in South Austrailia – this river breaths life into the clay-rich soils and helps make for a good growing environment since the annual rainfall is so low in the region.

Technical Data:
Winemaker Teresa Heuzenroeder
Region South Australia
Vintage 2006
13.5%
Harvested 21 February to 17 March 2006
Alc/Vol 13.5%
Total Acid 6 g/L
pH 3.39
Residual Sugar 2.8 g/L
Cellaring Now – 3 years

Nose: grass with pasture (like an old hay barn) smell backed up with crushed grapeseed, wet clay, passionfruit and magno notes and lavender buds.

Taste: Fresh cantelope and honeydew for days – some creamy butter components which are sharply followed by hints of straw and a flint-like finish which ends on a sour, bitter note for me – not a fan.

Overall Summary:
For $8, this isn’t a horrible effort yet it lacks the overall consistancy and structure across the palate which I like better. There’s no doubt that it does have some qualities which will cater to some folks, however, I’d rather shell out a few more dollars and get something from the likes of Maryhill or other Viognier producers which make better wines for only a bit more money.

If you’re at all curious about white wines from Austrailia, then you could easily use this wine as a cheap experiement and see what’s going on here.

W.E.P. Scale Rating: 80%

With its first, estate vineyard planted in 1998, Nefarious Cellars Winery – based in Chelan WA – is run by husband/wife team of Dean and Heather Neff. He makes the reds and she makes the whites – seems like a cool combination. We ran by their booth at the Taste WA event a couple of months ago and I’ve been intrigued by their wines since.

2007 Viognier: W.E.P. Scale Rating: %100

Technical information:
Ph: 3.25
TA: .62g/100mL
Alcohol: 13.0%
Residual Sugar .6 g/100mL
Stainless steel fermentation.
Vineyard: Defiance
This is the first wine to be released from our estate fruit located on the winery property in Lake Chelan.
Production: 198 cases
Official Release Date: April 18, 2008
Winemaker: Heather Neff
Price: $19

Nose: Pears, very floral, some apple components and orange peel going on which I appreciate.

Taste; Good spiciness coupled with bosch pears, apples and hints of green apple skin. Solid fruit across the entire palate with a nice, lingering finish. Excellent balance of acidity and fruit which I know will appeal to a lot of people.

2007 Viogner Summary:
I really liked this wine – a lot – as a huge fan of Viognier, I felt Heather really nailed this one. It screams summertime foods, spicy thai food or it’s just great to drink on its own. At $19 it’s a bit higher than competing bottles from the likes of Maryhill and other makers of fine Washington Viognier, however, does a great job of competing. If you’re new to Viogner and want to taste a great one, then give this a go.

2006 Cabernet Franc: W.E.P. Scale Rating: 90%

Technical information:
PH: 3.68
TA: .60 g/100mL
Alcohol: 14.0%
This wine spent 18 months in all French oak barrels. 33% is new and the remainder once-filled.
Vineyard: Weinbau Vineyard, Wahluke Slope AVA
Production: 70 cases
Official Release Date: June 1, 2007
Winemaker: Dean Neff
Price: $28

Nose: Creamed cherries and raspberries on the nose. Some big-league chew bubble gum as well. White pepper.

Taste: huge dark cherry component mixed with chocolate, vanilla and pepper. The finish lingers on quite nicely – this would be a great wine with prime rib or peppered steaks.

2006 Cabernet Franc Summary:
Most of you know I’m a huge fan of quality-to-price-ratio – having said that, there are definitely some things to appreciate about this wine – it has good complexity, finishes well and is very food-friendly. My only dilemma is its price – at $28, there are other wines in that price category which I favor a bit more. If you can find this wine at retail for well under $25, I’d easily recommend it is a good bottle and should be tried by folks. If Nefarious can get the price down a bit, we’d have an easy contender.