2012 Kongsgaard Viorous

The 2012 Viourous, Kongsgaard's Viognier/Roussane blend, is soft, supple and quite pretty. Pears, white flowers and almonds meld together in a layered white to drink now and over the next few years. As always, the Kongsgaard style and an approach that gives a lot of importance to texture, comes through loud and clear. The 2012 is 60% Viognier and 40% Roussanne.

One of Kongsaard’s specialties and a wine that I love, Viorous is essentially a fruit bomb of Viognier and Roussanne. The 2012 is almost a comfit of rose petal-flavored liqueur interwoven with apricot, white peach, and honeysuckle that jumps from the glass of this superb, full-bodied, richly fruity wine. It is best drunk in its first exuberant years of life. These all look like impressive wines, but they are so limited in availability, I’ve kept my tasting notes short. The brilliant John Kongsgaard – part winemaker, part opera devotee, and part mystic – has a few new items up his sleeve for release. Of course, he is still offering his Chardonnays and Syrahs, which are among the very best made in California. Over recent years Kongsgaard has branched out to produce Cabernet Sauvignon from Atlas Peak. He has two cuvees now that come from these volcanic soils, cropped at very tiny yields of one ton of fruit per acre. The wines come from relatively old vines for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 years of age as of 2012. Kongsgaard’s newest baby, which he started making in 2009, is only two to four barrels of co-fermented Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in a 50/50 blend from the Atlas Peak site. Fax (707) 226-2936