WTN: Tria Carneros Viognier '95.....(short/boring)

Tried this last night:
1. Tria Carneros Viognier (13.5%) 1995: Med.gold color; rather pencilly/Mosel valve oil/gout de petrol some spicy/fragrant/peachy/Viognier bit complex lovely/beautiful nose; med.tart very lush/creamy/bit buttery peachy/pear/Viognier quite spicy lovely flavor; long very spicy/peachy/valve oil complex finish; very much alive & vibrant and a genuine pleasure to drink. $21.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was looking for something to drink with my leftover choucroute garni (Alsatian colloquialism for weenies & kraut; that famed/classic Kansas dish). As I rummaged around in my back room, there was this lost btl of Viognier, standing upright for some 10 yrs, not so good storage conditions. I expected it to be pretty much dead and gone.
It was not....still very much alive and well and a delight to drink. Exactly what the choucroute needed.
This Tria wine was made back when Bill Knuttle (now of DryCreekVnyds and Ottomino, formerly of ChalkHillWnry) still owned the label and was making the wines. There were, in its day, some real gems that Bill produced. This one was nice, but just that, when I first got it. One of those not-so-frequent examples of a Viognier that was improved with age.
Not sure what vnyd this wine came from, as Viognier doesn't seem to be very widely planted in Carnedros.
Tom

I don't know whether to thank you or curse you, Tom... Great sounding Viognier, one of my weaknesses, and.. wham.. it's a 95 from a winery w/o a functional website, so I have no clue if they still might make Viognier... jeez...

Jim,
I don't recall that Bill ever made another Viognier at all. Plus...he sold the Tria label a number of yrs ago...so even if they did, I doubt it would be nearly as good as Bill's. There are plenty of other Viogniers out there worth buying...like Steve Edmunds'. It has that lean character I recall this one having.
Tom

Thanx, Tom.. I wish I had as easy access as you seem to have to ESJ wines.. but that is a theme for another thread (and is actually taking place on another board, to remain unnamed).

Via e-mail this afternoon:
Tom,
Wow! That's the second or third time in the last few years that I've had very positive comments on the '95 Viognier. The fruit came from the vineyard around Acacia Winery, back in the days before Chalone owned it (and at which time we lost the contract for this fruit!). I knew the vineyard well, as I was just next door at Saintsbury. It never had extremely forward aromatics, so I barrel fermented it in older oak to highlight the creamy texture without doing in the aromatics it had. I think that's the secret to the longevity of this wine. And a key to my winemaking as well: I still make everything for the long term, even though I know 98% of it is drunk up long before it's aged. It's classic winemaking, nothing more--and there's a reason that it's classic, as you can see!
Thanks again for your comments. I'm off to battle the coming rain storm to see how we can extract the best out of the rest of the grapes out there!
Cheers
Bill

OK, Tom...now you have upped the ante!! Where is Bill making wines now???? Sounds like they are worth checking out.. . .thanx for the update too..

Jim,
Bill has been the winemaker at DryCreekVnyds for about the last 3-4 yrs, after being hired away from ChalkHillWnry. He is also a partner w/ Brad Alpert (does the vnyd part) in the Ottomino label, which makes two RussianRvrVlly Zins that are quite good.
Bill has not made a Viognier at DCV to my knowledge. DCV did make an '02 Viognier DryCreekVlly, but I think that was just afore Bill's arrival. It was not particularly thrilling, not much aromatics and a screechy acidity to it.
I think the DCV wines have taken a good notch upward since his arrival as winemaker. They're some of my consistent favorites.
Tom