Mr. Riggs Wine Co. 'Mrs. Viognier' | McLaren Vale

The McLaren Vale fruit was hand-picked, then crushed and de-stemmed. Approximately 60% of the juice was drained into 3 year old French oak barriques. The balance of the juice and skins are retained to be later co-fermented with Shiraz for the Piebald Syrah. With the cloudy juice starting to ferment within 24 hours, the ferment ticked along beautifully until dry, with the malo starting on its own accord. “Treat it mean, keep it keen” is the philosophy to follow with this delicate creature, allowing wild, hot fermentation to work its magic with no sulphur getting in the way. This is a delicate, floral number that seduces you slowly, sip by sip,rather than knocking you over the head with one powerful punch. With the Viognier, Ben aims for a finer, more elegant style than the norm. Typical floral apricots and waxy blossom characters abound, while a wonderfully complex integration of tropical fruit and honeysuckle cross the palate. It’s a delicate wine rather than a red drinker’s white!