2006 Sérame - France

The Stats:

Name: Sérame
Vintage: 2006
Country of Origin: France
Grape: Viognier
Price: ~$14

Overview:

The 2006 Sérame is a white wine grown at the Château de Sérame in Parempuyre. It has an alcohol content of 13.5% and thus in line with most Viognier based wines which tend to be on average at 13% alchol by volume.

Optics:

The wine has a light yellow hue when held up against the light. It does not carry any sendiment and it shows nice legs in the glass with some staying power.

Tasting Notes:

This is my first experience with the Viognier grape and as such I wasn’t quite sure what I should expect. The wine has a woody nose like a freshly cut tree. It hits the tongue as a robust and full taste, slowly revealing some finer notes that compose the body of this wine.

There is a distinct taste of apple when the wine first hits the tongue followed by an emergence of citrus. Unfortunately the finish is rather fast and not overly spectacular, it does not “linger around” much and leaves the tongue rather quickly. Which I find a bit of a disappointment.

Pairings:

Because of the full bodiedness of the wine I could see it paired with some pasta and a heavier creme sauce. The lack of a strong finish is a bit disappointing but should not be too noticable with the pasta.

Chicken (light roasted, maybe with some lemon) could pair well with it as well though I would not try to pair it with anything overly strong or complex of flavour, the wine would not stand up well to a steak with fresh ground pepper.

Taster Notes:

This being my first Viognier I have to admit I feel a bit disappointed. Granted, this is “only” a $13 bottle of wine, but I still had higher hopes. A description of the rate I had read (and that got me curious about the wine) was:

If a good German riesling is like an ice skater (fast, racy, with a cutting edge), and chardonnay is like a middle-heavyweight boxer (punchy, solid, powerful), then viognier would have to be described as a female gymnast — beautiful and perfectly shaped, with muscle but superb agility and elegance.”

Unfortunately this one lacks a bit of the elegance I was hoping for. There is no real spark in it that makes it a good wine for “just drinking” though I could see it pair well with a nice dinner that is similar fully bodied as the wine. But I am missing the subtelty or elegance I was expecting.