Rosenblum 'Ripken Ranch' 2006 Late Harvest Viognier

Ripken Ranch is out in Lodi, an area that does well for Zinfandel and varietals that can take the heavy heat.   Interestingly, the back label reveals that this wine was only "partially affected" by botrytis cinera.   So there's some fortification happening in here too...    This wine is hit to serve at the end of a big meal -- lots of delicious sugary fruit to coat the palate with, and perfect to serve with ice cream or cake.  89 points

Comments

[Ryan Ripken]

This is a knock-out wine. The botrytis emphasizes the apricot and honey flavors while the Viognier brings tropical/floral notes. The grapes were only partially affected, this explains the blend of flavors. The noble rot does "fortify' the flavors, but the wine isn't fortified in the sense that distiller's brandy was added as in a port. The grapes came into the winery at 36 brix, they looked like raisins. I know the wine was cold-fermented, if anything at all was added it would have been water to avoid a stuck fermentation but that is a guess on my part and probably a winemaker's secret. Ripken Vineyards & Winery has their own Late Harvest Viognier which is also fantastic.