Winemaker Notes
Bright aromas of peach, jasmine, honeysuckle and lemon chiffon hint towards the medley of fun flavors in this spunky and enjoyable Viognier… mango, mandarin, fresh green apple, honeydew melon and a faint whisper of good & plenty licorice. This wine is flinty, lively and delicious.
Production
Finally we received a decent rainfall after 5 years of drought. The growing season was close to ideal although a littler earlier than average. The 2016 vintage turned out to be wonderful with good yields and intense flavors. After hand harvesting, the whole grape clusters were pressed, then the fresh Viognier juice was moved by gravity to Calera’s barrel cellar. This wine was fermented in 80% older, neutral French oak barrels and 20% in concrete tank by indigenous yeasts, followed by a complete malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged in its respective fermentation vessels for eight months.