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Barboursville Virginia Viognier Reserve 2016

Barboursville Vineyards is one of my favorite wineries in Virginia.  It was the first to successfully grow European wine grapes in Virginia, when the Zonin family from Italy purchased the property in the1970's and brought Gabriele Rausse to America to establish the vineyards.  Today, Barboursville is one of the largest wineries in Virginia.

Viognier has been so successfully grown in Virginia that it was designated the state grape.  Barboursville ferments the wine in stainless steel and ages it on the lees for 11 months in stainless steel.  This process results in a softer, less crisp wine.  I found flavors of minerality, tropical fruit and honey.  The AVA is listed as Virginia, so not all of the grapes are from the Monticello AVA.  My local wine shop sells this for $19.99.  I know this may not be the best Viognier from Virginia, but it is very good and it is the only Virginia Viognier available in my area.  I enjoyed it and will buy more.

SC Wine Joe does not assign numerical ratings to white wines.  Robert Parker rates the wine at 89 points.

ADDED NOTE 11/20/2019.  Wine Enthusiast has released their top 100 list of wines for 2019 and included the 2017 vintage of this wine at #100.  They rated the wine at 90 points and it was the only Virginia wine to make the list.  Wine reviewed above was the 2016 vintage.


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