It’s impossible when sharing a bottle of R Vineyards’ 2015 Viognier to know just how much winemaker David Rosenthal suffered in its production.
The wine is gorgeous, a coquet luring you with aromas of drying honeysuckle, peaches clinging in an orchard, apricots stewing on a well-used cast iron stove in a kitchen lined with baskets of ready mango and fallen blossoms. It casts a spell, compelling you to sit and admire its charms from afar.
But the bouquet presents an almost poignant face. The bright, youthful perfume one expects from Viognier here seems weightier, as if it gathered depth during its journey from vine to bottle.
On the palate the 2015 Viognier appears creamy, almost languid. Baked peaches and peppery mango recline in the rich cushion. Lighter notes — split balsa and sun drenched honeysuckle call on even denser aspects, including a hint of cured apricot and a crackle of bitterness. The finish is laced with vanilla, completing the expression of elegance.
This is a more cultured Viognier.
“It’s a departure from previous vintages,” Rosenthal observed. “It’s different — more subtle.”
So again it is difficult to imagine Rosenthal pacing the winery, debating whether he should bottle the wine or consign it to the annals of winemaking’s many frustrations.
You see, Rosenthal scheduled harvest on his 9 acre Viognier plot near Middletown for September 13, 2015 — a Sunday. The Valley Fire erupted on Saturday afternoon, forcing everyone to hurry toward safety, leaving the grapes hanging on the vine, equipment ready in the field, smoke bellowing over the vineyard.
Five days later Rosenthal and his crew were allowed in to pick the grapes. During this hasty harvest it began to rain — a blessing for fire crews battling the blaze, but a disaster for winemakers. Fruit first dusted by smoke then allowed to hang now threatened to absorb water. Even worse, one of the trucks dug into the mud, forcing the crew to winch it free.
“It was stressful,” Rosenthal recalled.
The longtime winemaker recalled the damage 2008 fires wrought on Sonoma and Napa vineyards. Entire varietals were pummeled by smoke taint. With that in mind, Rosenthal took the precaution of filtering the Viognier before and after fermentation. But this dimmed the sprightly spirit he crafts into the wine.
“It had wonderful Viognier aromatics,” he said.
In response, Rosenthal employed oak segments, cured and toasted as if for the cooper, hoping to restore some of that festive nature.
The result was, as he noted, a departure from earlier vintages. Instead, it’s a refined, comely, compelling one off wine — a beautiful gift from the ashes.
“We’re happy with the way it came out,” Rosenthal said, dismissing all those trying moments during the 2015’s unusual harvest. “It’s fun.”
Indeed, the remarkable wine caused Rosenthal to reconsider years of success with ripe Viognier and cool stainless steel. He may just try the new techniques, forced on him by circumstance, with a future vintage.
“We have to see what we want to do going forward,” he said.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
