2023 Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley

For 2023 we returned to Zaca Mesa Vineyard for our Viognier fruit with the hopes of repeating the great success we’ve had over the last few years.  This is one of those spots that, as a winemaker, I know makes great wine, but it often doesn’t look so great.  The vines tend to look haggard and tired.  We constantly battle bee/yellow jacket damage in this block and the weeds never stop growing here.  But despite all of that, the fruit that we manage to get to the finish line, makes for some of the best Viognier I’ve tasted from our valley.  To promote that varietal correctness and showcase that beautiful fruit above anything else, we do a stainless-steel fermentation, followed by a year in very old French oak barrels.  We don’t want any impression of oak on the wine, but we do want the roundness and softness that oak aging provides.  At the end of the day, we are striving for a clean, expressive, fresh and focused version of Viognier.  For 2023, I’d say mission accomplished.