Saddleback Cellars
2010 Viognier
Viognier
California: Clarksburg
Mission Briefing
Saddle up for Summer
Soft, refreshing and quite elegant, today’s 2010 Saddleback Cellars Viognier is the perfect summertime companion. Enjoy this freshly delicious wine all on its own, on a hot summer day, or with a wide variety of foods.
Nils Venge was the first California winemaker to garner a perfect 100 point score and he has since gone on to win numerous record-beating scores and accolades. He has certainly earned our admiration. In fact, last year we named Nils our Winemaker of the Year.
Today’s delicious wine is highly recommended, but it is also in short supply. We secured every last bottle for you, so please act quickly if you love great white wines.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Vibrant and bright golden hues with perfectly even coloration from core to edge. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Sweet and tart with floral notes of acacia, lychee flower as well as notes of green apple, lemongrass, pear, dried apricot, lychee fruit and a hint of minerality. Just a touch of white pepper spice at the end. |
| Taste: | Soft and smooth on entry with an initial rush of citrus, lemongrass, persimmon, underripe pear and granite. At the back palate, a subtle hint of dried herbs de Provence mixes with subtle white pepper. |
| Finish: | Very bright and medium-long with a viscous feel that coats the palate with stonefruit and a hint of white pepper and subtle minerals. |
| Pairing: | Enjoy this plush, elegant wine with a Salad Niçoise or a fruit and cheese plate. |
What the Winery Says
2010 VIOGNIER
At the Baranek Family Vineyard there are only sixteen rows of well-cared of grapes that are planted in Clarksburg, a sleepy town located in the Sacramento Delta area. Sunny and hot in the summer with cool, breeze filled nights, it is an ideal location for growing Viognier.
- Appellation
- Clarksburg
- Blend
- 93% Viognier, 7% Semillion
- Ageing and Cooperage
- Five months in 100% neutral Oak, 4-5 year old barrels
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Bottled
- March 23rd, 2011
- Released
- April 2012
- Cases Produced
- 328 cases
- Harvest
- We handpicked 7.7 tons of Viognier in the early morning from September 17th, 2010.
- Average Sugar
- 23.5 BRIX
- Acidity
- 0.60 g/100ml
- pH
- 3.52 units
- Fermentation and aging
- After whole cluster pressing and cold settling, the clear juice was racked into small stainless steel fermenters and inoculated with QA-23 yeast. Fermentation ensued and remained temperature controlled for approximately two weeks at 52 degrees until the Brix reading dropped to two degrees. At this point, the fermenting wine was transferred to four and five year-old French 60 gallon oak barrels for completion of fermentation. Here it remained on the lees and stirred every two weeks while it aged for five months. The wine did not go through malo-latic fermentation.
- Characteristics
- An explosive aromatic nose full of stone fruit blossoms, lychee fruit, jasmine petals, and light honeysuckle. Stirring the lees two times a week over a five month period produced a full-bodied, viscous mouth-feel with notes of peach pie and nectarine, followed by a long lingering finish. A perfect accompaniment with Fish, Lobster, Chicken with Cream Sauce, Roasted Nuts, Curry, and Cheese.
- REVIEWS & AWARDS
- 2013 American Fine Wine Competition, Boca Raton – Silver Medal
About the Winery
Here at Saddleback Cellars, we take every step to assure the highest quality wines from grape to bottle. Our goal is to produce wines that are true to their varietal and place; we limit production to only five to six thousand cases a year to further our goal of making truly hand-crafted wines of the highest quality.
Winemaker/owner Nils Venge and Lars, our assistant winemaker, use traditional winemaking techniques to assure well balanced wines that are easy to drink young and, with the proper cellar conditions, age with grace and beauty.
Winemaker Nils Venge
Born to Danish immigrants, Nils’ exposure to wine came at an early age: his parents operated a wine and liquor import and distribution company in Southern California. Nils continued his pursuit of wine at the University of California in Davis where he earned a BS in Viticulture in 1967.
Following graduation he moved to the Napa Valley to pursue his interest in winemaking. In the subsequent years, he worked for notable wineries, such as Charles Krug, Sterling, Villa Mount Eden and Groth. During his tenure at Groth, Nils became the first American winemaker to receive a perfect 100 point rating from Wine Critic Robert Parker Jr. for the 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which catapulted him to a venerated position in the California wine industry.
Vineyard Notes
Saddleback Cellars is a small winery located off dead-end Money Road in Oakville, California. We sit at just about the 50-yard line of the valley.
Our vineyard comprises a total of 14.8 acres where we grow six varietals. As it is, 8.4 acres are planted in Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.9 acres in Chardonnay, 1.75 acres in Merlot, 1.1 acres in Pinot Blanc, 0.3 acres in Pinot Grigio and 0.3 acres in Zinfandel.
All of our grapes are hand-picked and rushed right to our onsite crush pad where we begin the winemaking process right away. Come see the action between late August and late October of each year.