Tim Smith Wines Eden Valley Viognier (Current Vintage)

Tim Smith's winemaking is heavily influenced by the time that he spent doing vintages in the Rhone Valley in France. It was on a study trip in the Rhone Valley whilst having a sip of fantastic Viognier, a Rhone variety, that he had the inspiration to start his own winery. 

Viognier has recently been sneaking its way into some Shiraz with co-fermenting to apparently provide more balance and complexity. Tim has had a lot of experience experimenting with blending Viognier with Shiraz and is not a fan of doing this. One of the reasons is that he does not believe it to be possible to predict in advance the optimum amount of Viognier to co-ferment with the Shiraz. I suspect that another reason is that, like me, he is not keen on Shiraz having hints of an apricot flavour. 

He also is not a fan of overdoing the apricot flavour in straight Viognier.

Sourced from two vineyards in the Eden Valley. Whole bunches were fermented and pressed into mostly used barrels with no secondary fermentation and inoculated ferments and bottled after short period ageing on lees. 

This wine pairs well with French food but also is a hit with Japanese food.

Don't serve this wine too cold to get the most out of the flavours.