Alban Vineyards Viognier, Central Coast, USA

奧爾本維歐尼干白葡萄酒（中部海岸）

點擊次數：4852

Starting with the whites and a smoking value, as well as a rich, decadent effort, John’s 2011 Viognier comes half from estate fruit and half from purchased fruit. It has knockout aromas and flavors of ripe peach, honeysuckle, apricot and white flowers. Made in the standard, pedal-to-the- metal Alban style, it stays beautifully fresh and focused. Buy it by the case and enjoy it over the coming year or two. Drink now-2015. Located at the very southern end of the Edna Valley and residing in its own little micro climate, Alban Vineyards, under the guidance of John Alban, is a reference point for Rhone varieties in the world today. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, both 2009 and 2010 are strong, with the 2009s possessing plenty of sweet fruit and relatively approachable profiles, and the 2010s showing slightly more structure, with lively acidity and big frames that will fill in once bottled. As is common with John’s Syrahs, these continue to gain in richness and depth as they mature in barrel (they see upwards of 4 years in barrel) and really don’t show all of their material and richness until 4-5 years after the vintage. In addition to his single vineyard Syrahs, I was blown away by his Mourvedre-dominated Forsythe and the Grenache-heavy Pandora (which comes from a single plot of chalky soils). Both are up near the pinnacle of what’s coming out of California today and should not be missed. Tel. (805) 546-0305; www.albanvineyards.com

The 2011 Viognier Central Coast is bright and focused from start to finish. White flowers, lychee and peaches are some of the notes that emerge from this pretty, nuanced wine. Readers looking for a textbook Central Coast Viognier will find much to admire. The Central Coast Viognier bottling is a relatively new offering made from 50% purchased fruit. It occupies an entry-level niche, and offers fabulous quality for the money. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2015. This is a fabulous set of wines from John and Lorraine Alban. Quite simply, I was blown away by what I tasted. As I noted last year, the whites are increasingly made in a more energetic style, not a bad thing as the fruit is already so expressive from the start. Over the years, a similar evolution has taken place with the reds. The inky, black color of the Syrahs is now gone. Today, Alban favors lengthy barrel aging for his top reds, a technique he compares to “braising” in cooking, which requires softer and gentler fermentations at the outset. Beginning around 2006, Alban started doing fewer pump overs and in general encourages longer, slower fermentations. The wines used to go into barrel with some sugar still left to ferment, while today they go in drier than in the past. Over the years, new oak levels have also come down. Most of the current releases are 2008s, a vintage Alban describes as characterized by a spring frost, drought and cloudy days with less heat and sunlight than is typically the case. Readers may want to check out my video interview with John Alban for more on current and upcoming vintages.Tel. (805) 546-0305; www.albanvineyards.com