Anglim Winery

Steve and Steffanie Anglim pride themselves in selecting Rhône varietals from some of the finest vineyards in California. When you get fruit from the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria, you are starting with something of impeccable breeding, so if the wine goes south, you have only yourself to blame. The Anglims did this one just right, using whole cluster pressing and settling overnight. It was fermented cold, 34 percent in neutral French oak barrels, 33 percent in stainless steel barrels, and 33 percent in stainless steel tank. The wine was allowed to age sur lees for 7 months, with weekly stirring.

Steve and Steffanie insist on 100 percent French oak, and the cooperage for this wine is from Chalufour, Rousseau and Fremy. Before bottling, the wine was filtered to preserve aromas and freshness. This is a ripe style Viognier with enticing aromas of baked pears, casaba melon, honey and candied pineapple. No slouch on the palate, it delivers an enormous flood of marzipan, sweet peaches, apricot jam, honeydew melon, Bosc pears, ripe pineapple and a hint of banana. The texture is juicy as can be, with a lovely minerality. The aromas from this wine are so exotic, all the fruit flies in my kitchen gave up sniffing around the fresh picked Cabernet grapes I brought in today and began dive-bombing my glass. They seem to be deliriously happy. Ahhhh, so am I.

Reviewed January 17, 2008 by Laura Ness.