2008 VIOGNIER “IBARRA-YOUNG VINEYARD”

This wine is 100% viognier from the Ibarra-Young Vineyard, just outside of Los Olivos in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley. This is our 20th consecutive vintage of this wine beginning with the 1989 vintage… a special wine that we don't make very much of.

These were our first grapes to ripen in 2008. We harvested all of 3 tons (off 1.25 acres) on August 29th at 23.7° brix, 7.4 acidity and 3.1 pH. I like to pick viognier on the early side of ripeness when it has refreshing acidity and balanced alcohol (this one is 13.2%).

The grapes were whole cluster pressed, chilled and settled overnight, then put directly into barrel for fermentation. I like to use 3 year old François Frères French oak barrels for viognier - neutral but still fresh. The wine was aged on the lees for 5 months and went through complete malo. Only 8 barrels, a mere 188 cases were produced… because we had so little I didn't make any half bottles in 2008.

This wine shows more of the mineral and citrus side of viognier while still exhibiting classic peach and honeysuckle aromas. This is a crisp, refreshing example of viognier that works remarkably with many dishes. I like to recommend drinking viognier young and fresh.