Shiraz/Viognier Blend - a trend?

No, northern Rhône. Viognier can legally be added to Côte Rôtie in a proportion of a maximum of 20%.

M.

AND in Côte Rôtie they are co-fermented not vinified separately and then blended - are the Aussie/US variants done in the same way?

pk

The "trend" comes from Côte Rotie and other prestigious Northern Rhone appellations. You can have up to 20% viognier, but these days few people add more than 5%. Not really a blend...

I can't say that all of them are, but the few that I have been able to get information on have been co-fermented.

Andy

Traditionally, Cote Rotie from the Northern Rhone was Syrah with a little viognier to give it a spice and aroma. So it has been around for a year or two. And no, not from the aussies!

Peter Taylor

"beernuts" skrev i meddelandet news:98uyf.196$Iw3.145@trndny06...

As has already been pointed out, the usage stems from Northern RHone (Cote-Rotie). The rationale could be that the co-fermentation fixes the pigments in the Syrah giving a greater depth to the color. Another explanation has been given that the addition of Viognier is a chaptalisation on the sly - I think this stems from no less a producer than GUigal, though I may be misstaken. It has also been pointed out that the two varietals are or were grown in the same lots - some overseas producer had ordered Syrah plants and found that what grew was Viognier. I may be completely wrong, but I think I read somewhere that some RHone Rangers are more dedicated to the blend than the Cote ROtie producers (I don´t think guIGAL uses it -then again, I might be dead wrong).

HTH

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

What other prestigious Northern Rhône appellations use white grapes in the red wine?

Curious, M.

Thanks all, great info. Wasn't aware of the French roots. I do know that the addition of Viognier is dynamite; complete opens up the nose and adds a wickedly balanced fruity overdrive to the Shiraz/Sirah.

A good example of the importance of specificity in wine chat; was thinking blend=co-fermentation. Is there anything else? Blending vs co-fermenting seems like a bad idea.

...>

IIRC, Hermitage allows Marsanne and Rousanne in the red but I don´t know if anyone practices it.

HTH

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

Yes, you are right - when I looked up the decree I read only this:

| Art. 2. - (Complété, D. 10 août 1994) - Les vins ayant droit à | l'appellation contrôlée « Hermitage » ou « l'Hermitage », avec | ou sans H, devront provenir des plants suivants, à l'exclusion | de tous autres : | | Pour les vins rouges : la Syrah. | | Pour les vins blancs : Roussanne et Marsanne.

I should have read further on:

| (Complété, D. 9 oct. 1956.) - Toutefois est autorisée | l'adjonction dans la limite de 15 %, de raisins blancs de | Marsanne et de Roussanne aux vendanges destinées à produire le | vin rouge.

Strange way of legistics ... ;-(

M.

Different wine makers here are using both methods, (and typically claim THEIR way is best..:>))

Have tasted both co-fermented S-V and blended SV's in Australia, and as commented, they are becoming more readily available by the day. A few years ago there were 4 or 5 Aussie producers of Shiraz Viognier blends (Yalumba, Clonakilla, Heathcote's Mail Coach Shiraz and D'Arenberg's Laughing Magpie were perhaps the established ones), and now it seems every 2nd winery has a S-V option. Recently at a show of Victorian wines (that is ONE state, and the smallest one at that, in Australia), yet there were 9 SV's up for tasting. (The picks of that bunch were the "Innocent Bystander" and "Feathertops" offerings). On a national scene there are now dozens of options in the market place. Most stick with the Rhone concept of adding/blending a few percent to "lift" the shiraz, yet there are a few "cheats' using larger percentages to turn the shiraz into zingy fruit bombs.

Feedback from women I speak to in my shop seem to suggest to me that SV blends may do for Shiraz what Merlot did for Cabernet, inasmuch as making red wine a desirable/tolerable drink for those disliking the tannins and/or austerity of red wines).

Personally, I love the trend, as a Cote Rotie addiction is an expensive habit...:>)

Regards

Swooper

Ah, but Swoop, are any of them likely to pass for a Cote-Rotie?

Mark Lipton unrepentant Cote-Rotie addict

Mark, you know better than I that Aussie and French wines are poles apart. There are however some brilliant SV's in Australia that NO, they would not pass as a Cote-Rotie, simply because of the fruit used, climate of growth, soil etc. (and of course that well trained palate of yours..:>)). However, some are excellent wines, and seem to be endearing themselves to folks who normally would not drink red wine, (and would probably not know of a Cote-Rotie in any case).

I assume you have tried a few Oz versions... if so... did you find any you liked?

regards

Swooper

Yeah, but I *had* to ask, Matt. ;-)

Of the SV blends, the Laughing Magpie (2001 IIRC) has been my only encounter. It's quite nice (I like the D'Arenberg style quite a bit). Of all the Shiraz from Oz that I've tried, my favorite to date is probably the '98 Penfolds St. Henri, a few of which still grace my cellar.

Hooroo! Mark Lipton

I think the sun and the soil make it difficult to duplicate the S/V blend in the US and southern hemisphere.

To me its like Pinot Noir & Burgundy. Even in Oregon & Carneros or Santa Barbara, you can tell there is a relationship between France & the left coast but not a duplication. Comparing Drouhin wines, East & West should prove my point.

I think s/v blends are more marketing. Some wineries in the US started playing with the blend and gained notoriety and sales. It would be interesting if we knew if any viognier was in the cuvees of Grange Hermitage before 1985.

Blend>

in article 98uyf.196$Iw3.145@trndny06, beernuts at snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote on 15/1/06 11:47 PM:

I've found the co-vinified versions of S-V to have more integrated flavours, better colour and a more restrained nose. Some of the blended Aussie S-Vs like Alkoomi's seem to be all Viognier on the nose and Shiraz on the palate and a bit thin, though the viognier is still just a smidge. The Millbrook (a co-vinified S-V) has much better colour, integrated, almost "chocolatey" flavours and a more elegant and complex nose. In the latter you know you're drinking a red wine. I think it has something to do with the polyphenols brought to the ferment by both varieties that react in some way to fix the colour in the resultant wine. I think I read somewhere that a small amouont of Viognier can actually help to improve the colour of the wine, but it could be BS.

Viognier for me lifts the nose (so it almost jumps out at you) and smoothens the palate. But I think you need to have great shiraz to run with the viognier 'cause it can seriously take over the nose.

PS. they've found that Viognier is actually a genetic relative (cousin, they think) of Nebbiolo after a study into traditional Piedmontese cultivars. They also found that a couple of so called clones of Neb are not actually Nebbiolo at all.... ouch!

Marcello Fabretti

Well, I think that's a stretch in that there's a big difference between a "novice" not knowing Zin can be a full bodied red wine and someone not knowing the cultural/historical evolution of s/v blending.

I can't tell you how many

Now that IS a "novice".

We get a lot of Vignonier blends here in Virginia because it's one of the grapes that does well in central VA.