2016 Reserve Viognier - Penns Woods Winery

Ripe honeydew, smooth pebbles, fresh pineapple. White nectarine, wild honey, lemon lime candy. Young bamboo and tropical flowers, hazelnut and a dusting of nutmeg. Juicy guava, passionfruit, and mango join with dragonfruit and yellow pear in a colorful gourmet fruit salad drizzled in pollen and beeswax. Mildly oily in texture, finishing with lean clean minerality minus any hint of flab. This 2016 Reserve Viognier by Penns Woods Winery is a high energy and complex Rhone white from the state of Pennsylvania.

White wine grapes from France's Rhone Valley never seem to get quite as much love as they deserve. This bottling, crafted from 100% Viognier sourced from the estate vineyard of Penns Woods Winery in Pennsylvania, is an excellent example of what this oft-forgotten grape can do. It is tremendously juicy and lush with a distinctly rich texture, yet ample acidity and mineral tones keep it in balance. Floral notes led by honeysuckle erupt on the bouquet, and a slight leesyness contributes further to depth and complexity. Pennsylvania is not widely known as possessing suitable terroir for Rhone grapes, but nobody told the folks at Penns Woods because this bottle is drinking wonderfully.