About this WINE
Domaine Saint Ferreol
Domaine de St. Ferreol's is located in the heart of the Herault Valley in Languedoc in the South of France.
The name Jorje Maslakiewicz does not immediately conjure up thoughts of a languid Southern French vigneron, and yet that is exactly what he is! Having bought the ancient property of St Ferréol in 2000, and with a degree in oenology and a far from sentimental vinous education, Jorge decided that he had identified the ideal location for the cultivation of the notoriously fickle Viognier grape. One was inclined to be sceptical, but the very act of tasting his wonderful Viogner wines was enough to banish all scepticism.
The location in question is the small enclave of Nizas, close to Montpellier. Jorge has not spared any expense; his wine has been both fermented and matured in significant volumes of new oak. Viognier’s calling cards of dried apricot, peach kernel and honeysuckle are all present and correct, displayed indeed, with bounteous aplomb. The texture is suitably rich and hedonistic, but there is an impressive mineral grip at the back to underline quality and lend a Condrieu-like texture but without, merci à Dieu, the Condrieu price tag.
Viognier
A white grape variety originating in the Northern Rhône and which in the last ten years has been increasingly planted in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc.
It is a poor-yielding grape that is notoriously fickle to grow, being susceptible to a whole gamut of pests and diseases. Crucially it must be picked at optimum ripeness - if harvested too early and under-ripe the resulting wine can be thin, dilute and unbalanced, while if picked too late then the wine will lack the grape's distinctive peach and honeysuckle aroma. It is most successfully grown in the tiny appellations of Château-Grillet and Condrieu where it thrives on the distinctive arzelle granite-rich soils. It is also grown in Côte Rôtie where it lends aromatic richness to the wines when blended with Syrah.
Viognier has been on the charge in the Southern Rhône and the Languedoc throughout the 1990s and is now a key component of many white Côtes du Rhône. In Languedoc and Rousillon it is increasingly being bottled unblended and with notable success with richly fragrant wines redolent of overripe apricots and peaches and selling at a fraction of the price of their Northern Rhône cousins.
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Description
Nizas, on the edge of Montpellier, does not immediately come to mind when one thinks of great Viognier. Perhaps it should, given the outstanding quality of this example, made expensively with oak employed for both the fermentation and the maturation, and with rich butterscotch mid-palate notes to complement the generous honeysuckle, gingerbread and dried fruits. But at ‘only’ 13 degres alcohol, the wine is pleasingly light-on-its feet, unusual for this variety and all the better for it, the freshness on the finish complementing the ambitious texture of the palate. Condrieu had better look out!
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
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