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Mission Codename: When goats fly

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Locate a superior Napa Valley Viognier – and gently persuade the winery to let our Operatives pick it up at price of less than $20 per bottle

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Napa Valley Farms

Wine Subject: 2006 Napa Valley Viognier

Winemaker: Todd White

Backgrounder: A very shy grape that is difficult to grow, Viognier was once an endangered species worldwide. Today, skillful growers and winemakers tend the grapes with great care, closely monitoring their progress and picking at the pinnacle of ripeness. Viognier, when perfectly produced, is a delightful wine that is the perfect alternative to more mainstream white wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. For today’s wine we sent Agent White to Napa Valley Farms, where he discovers their stellar Viognier. Read Agent White’s tasting notes and mission report below to learn why you will love this wine

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Glittering gold to pale straw in color with a tight surface that settles quickly when vigorously swirled. Give the wine a swirl and it will leave behind thick and closely-spaced legs that take a while to emerge before the move slowly down the glass

Smell – Beautifully aromatic with deep acacia, green apple, honeysuckle, apricot, pineapple, guava, subtle fruit-loops, a hint of citrus and freshly-cut sweetgrass

Feel – Cool, round and very soft up-front, round and creamy across the top of the tongue and then slightly mouth-coating, with a gentle tannic bite and slight tingle at the end

Taste – Delicious layers of tropical fruits, citrus, soft Bartlett pear, mild oak and vanilla with mildest cream

Finish -High and bright with a big tropical fruity sweetness that’s followed quickly by a slight tart dryness as the flavors linger on and on

Conclusion – Score one for Napa Valley Farms with this delicious and delightful Viognier! Todd white shows off his talent for making whimsical wines that are as fun to share with friends and loved ones as they are to drink. At our special price today, this is a wine to stock up on. What a delicious wine this is! Something of a surprise considering its lower price. I tasted this wine chilled and freshly opened. On opening, the wine is bright and crisp and delicious. On tasting the wine again later at room temperature, I found that the wine mellowed, showing more smoothness and softer flavors. White wines are great cold, but I always encourage experimentation with regard to temp, stemware and time in the air.

Summertime is hanging on for dear life in some parts of the country. In other parts, it’s still plenty hot. With the warm weather here, today’s solidly built and perfectly delicious Viognier is the perfect afternoon refresher. With the holidays approaching, don’t forget that Viognier is a flexible wine to be served with most of your holiday entertaining. Hot weather or cold, delight your guests by serving something other than boring Chardonnay.

Mission Report:

When I’m not crunching hard data in our Beverly Hills safehouse, I either scouting Malibu, Temecula and Santa Barbara from the air in the company Cessna, our little spy plane.

On this day, however, I was up in Napa and Sonoma counties, and slightly out of my element. I had come up for a short conference with Agent Red, to discuss matters of wine sleuthing and winery intelligence gathering. As agents on The Wine Spies, we’re fairly autonomous, but like any good agency, we work best as a team.

Since I don’t get to do much direct field work, Red had arranged secret meet with one of his newest assets, a man he called, ‘Hutch’. I was to meet Hutch at The Flying Goat, in downtown Healdsburg and from there go to Napa. Hutch was an industry guy with deep connections and a nose for stellar wines.

I sat sipping a Breve Latte, which Agent Red had ordered for me before leaving me. Not my drink of choice, but not bad, either. I was reading a back issue of Wine & Vines, an industry trade rag, when a man approached.

“Pardon me,” he said quietly. “Are you agent White?”

I nodded.

“Can you tell me your real name?”

I answered with a question: “Can you tell me yours?”

“When goats fly!” he answered.

Satisfied with the passphrase, I stood quickly, gave the man a stern look – and shot out my hand to shake his. We both smiled and sat down.

Hutch briefed me on his latest find, an apparent gem of a Viognier from Napa Valley Farms, in St. Helena, at the northern end of the Napa Valley. Hutch had managed to secure a quantity of the wine for our Operatives, and he assured me that I would love it. Before we parted, Hutch handed me a slip of paper with a series of numbers on it. I recognized these to be map coordinates, certainly for a dead drop, where I would find samples of the wine.

I thanked him and was out the door. Less than 30 minutes later, I located the drop. Hidden in a hedge row, along a country road, was a cleverly camouflaged basket. Inside were two perfectly chilled bottle Napa Valley Farms’ 2006 Viognier – and a sandwich! Agent Red must have briefed Hutch on my constant appetite.

I returned to our Sonoma County safe house, popped a bottle and dug in. The wine was very impressive. It was fresh, flavorful and delightful. The perfect compliment to the hot day. Read my complete tasting notes above and then order some of today’s delicious wine. Delicious sandwich not included!

Wine Spies Rendezvous Recon Photo:

The location of the Flying Goat Coffee shop in Healdsburg, California, can be seen in this satellite photo.