Domaine Saint Ferréol Viognier, 2006, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France  Add/Read Comments

Wine merchants exist for one single reason - to flog us wine. Their sales patter can verge on the obscene leaving the feeling that they should be in advertising. Which I guess they are. Laithwaites has whole departments dedicated to producing purple prose for the volumes of leaflets and sales letters they despatch. Oddbins in its distant heyday regularly got me excited with page after wine list page extolling the virtues of this newly discovered wine or that gem of a tiny parcel. Funny but all I remember is that they only offered these 'little' parcels...

For the smaller merchant the excessive use of 'finest vintage ever', 'amazing value' and so on can verge on the desperate. The Flying Corkscrew hawked this Viognier shortly before Christmas as 'fabulous' and resorted to various press quotes to extol its wonderfulness. In this case though, they are correct. It's an absolute star.

Review0.3
Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Saint Ferréol Viognier, 2006, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France
Stockist: Flying Corkscrew Berry Brothers Price: £11.50 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
Lovely complexity and a richness that is perfectly balanced by the acidity. Nutty with hints of apricots, orange pith, peach blossom and vanilla. Smooth and highly drinkable. Alcohol 12.5%. No flabbiness, no excessive floweriness just excellent poise, balance and flavour. While others have compared this to the best Condrieu Viogniers it doesn't quite have the depth and texture of the great Rhone wines, but as it stands it is a stonker and well worth the eleven quid.

Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 94/100 [4.25 out of 5]

Seafood, butter sauces, rosemary and nuts are regularly pushed as ideal partners for Viognier ; so you would expect a dish of Rosemary Seared Scallops With Pancetta, Salad and Hazelnuts to be a sublime match; and it was!

Other foods to try would include crab, chicken, cream sauces, and lightly spiced dishes with cinnamon, cumin or nutmeg.