In a country famed for its complex chardonnays and sauvignon blancs, it¹s not surprising the Viognier variety is the new name on everyone¹s lips. The Viognier grape has returned from the endangered species list to enliven palates in the US, Australia and now New Zealand. At one stage only 35 acres of this grape variety remained in France, where it is the only grape used for the Northern Rhône appellations Condrieu and Château-Grillet.

Viognier¹s comeback in the US and Australia is spreading to New Zealand, where Morton Estate has just produced its first Viognier from plantings at its Tantallon Vineyard in Hawkes Bay. It joins our mid-price White Label range. Our winemakers are delighted with the first vintage, which has developed into a medium bodied wine, with intense flavours and explosive orange/marmalade aromas that are typical of this variety. While it is known to perform well in warm climates, it can grow in cooler areas and the exposure to the Hawkes Bay climate is sure to create some interesting results as it has with chardonnay, gewürztraminer and pinot gris. When harvested at peak maturity, Viognier displays unique aromas and characters and tends to have quite high alcohol content. Its attraction is the powerful and rich aromas, which are often like ripe apricots and orange blossoms.

However many other flower and fruit aromas can often be perceived, depending on where it is grown, the weather conditions and the age of the vines.

Morton Estate¹s White Label Hawkes Bay Viognier certainly follows this trend. It is dry in style and shares some traits with chardonnay such as the burst of distinctive fruit characters and creamy mouthfeel on the palate.

Elsewhere, Viognier is a popular blending wine, ideally suited to spicy dishes including Asian-style stir fries, Thai foods and curries. Its explosive fruit characters can also be a surprising addition to dishes of more subtle flavour such as fish.

While within New Zealand, plantings of this variety are still relatively young, the vines are known to be long lived and those older than 20 years are considered superior to younger ones - so there should be many interesting developments from this variety over the years.