Fetzer (California) Echo Ridge Viognier 2000
Viognier (vee-ohn-yay) is ultra fashionable at the moment. Not so long ago Viognier was confined to a tiny patch of the northern Rhone Valley in France, but now the world has discovered Viognier and it is the hottest of the current crop of ‘Anything But Chardonnay’ contenders. Fetzer’s Viogniers are old favourites and have made ‘wine of the week’ before, but this brand new vintage is a stunner. The nose is the absolute essence of ripe, juicy pears with hints of honeysuckle (try this one on your friends who claim they can’t detect any fancy aromas in a wine) and the cool, elegant palate has enough zest to lift the plump, weighty pear and peach fruit that shimmers across the palate. Very nicely balanced, it carries its 13.5% alcohol well. 6.99 Tesco, Oddbins, Majestic
