A Pleasant Surprise!

The Dominio IV 2008 Viognier “A Gate Swung Open” is nothing short of impressive to me. I am admittedly drawn to aromatic and unusual white wines with distinctive personalities. I have enjoyed discovering many offerings of this slightly uncommon varietal from different producers in Oregon but find that they can often tend towards simple candied sweet aromatics and palates- nice but not memorable. Upon tasting this small production wine (only 326 cases made) from the phenomenally talented couple Patrick Reuter and Leigh Bartholomew, I was excited to find that this can be a very sophisticated wine! This 2008 offers up elegant floral notes followed by crisp acidity and delicate fruit with a backbone of minerality and incredible texture. The texture, I should note, is not the typical viscous round and slightly flabby one I oft anticipate from Viognier. On the contrary, this wine has a complex richness that hits my palate with body found from a partial sur lees fermentation in neutral French oak barrels in addition to some stainless steel. I highly recommend picking up a bottle of this wine to help ease you through this unusually warm Oregon summer before it runs out!

Dominio IV A Gate Swung Open Viognier 2008