|
|
Wine Recommendation
Michael Martella Wines
2006 Viognier(Santa Cruz Mountains)
What a gorgeous nose! And the label is also quite distinctive. Winemaker Michael Martella’s wife, Beverly, is an art teacher at a grade school in Woodside. One of her students created the art for the label: it is a fitting trailer and preview to this most excellent example of Viognier.
Anyone who’s been to France or has experienced one of the better Viogniers they export (the French don’t send us many of their best examples of these) knows how distinctively wonderful and seductive Viognier can be – it’s a Rhone grape that is prized for its heady perfume and aromas of pears and apples. Please, if you’ve endured something from Lodi or Livermore, guess again and really give this variety a chance.
This Viognier comes from Black Ridge Vineyards, a certified Biodynamic vineyard near Lexington Reservoir. The fabulous nose (I couldn’t stop enjoying it) is all perfume, pear and baked apples. It hits your tongue with bouncing acidity and great flavors of peaches and nectarines. Truly this wine is Springtime in a glass. One of the nicest pluses is that it is a screwcap, thus preserving the fresh fruitiness with nary a worry about cork taint. This wine would be divine with grilled Mahi Mahi and pineapple-peach salsa.
Reviewed July 25, 2007 by Laura Ness.
Other reviewed wines from Michael Martella Wines
The Wine
Winery: Michael Martella Wines |
The Reviewer
Laura Ness
A wine writer and wine judge for major publications and competitions around the country, Laura Ness likens wine to the experience of music. She is always looking for that ubiquitous marriage of rhythm, melody, and flawless execution. What is good music? You know it when you get lost in it. What is good wine? It is music in your mouth. |