Made my monthly journey into TJ's to do some bottom feeding. Scored big time:
1. Vignals Viognier IGP: Pays d'Oc (13%; PlumeRidgeImprts/Claremont/CA; www.PlumeRidge.com) Carcassonne 2020: Med.gold color w/ some bubbles that dissipate; fairly fragrant Viog/pear/apple/bit floral/gardenias lightly spicy/nutmeg slight earthy quite pleasant/pretty nose; lightly tart bright/floral/Viog/pear/apple slight earthy somewhat rich flavor; very long bright floral/Viog/pear/peach slight earthy/chalky finish; quite a pretty/attractive Viog not at all vapid that reminds some of Qupe or TablasCreek Viog but not quite as rich; quite a pretty Viog at a great price. $7.00 (TJ)
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2. FoggyVeil SantaBarbaraCnty HillsideSlctn (14.4%; 72% Syrah/28% Grenache) C&B by FoggyVeilWinesw/SantaMaria 2018: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/quite spicy/bit boysenberry light pencilly/oak slight Rhonish/peppery bit complex lovely nose; fairly tart/tang very strong blackberry/Syrah/quite spicy light pencilly/oak flavor w/ light chewey tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/bit peppery light pencilly/oak slight Rhonish somewhat complex finish w/ modest chewey tannins; a lovely SBCnty Syrah at the level of the Jaffurs or Ojai SBCnty Syrah at less than half the price; a Syrah that will benefit from a few more yrs to soften the tannins; a steal at $14.00 (TJ)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Some 20 yrs ago as Viognier started to take off, there was a lot of Viog plantings in the South of France, particularly in te Pays d'Oc. Most of them were rather lean/austere w/ not a lot of richness or fruit. The grape never really caught on. This Vignals is probably the best Viog from the Pd'Oc I've had.
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2. FoggyVeil: I was pretty much blown away by the Syrah. Supposedly it's a TJ's exclusive, but other retailers seem to carry it at $20.00. This is a serious Syrah, folks. It reminded me in style & structure of the SBCnty Syrahs from Jaffurs or Ojai.
FoggyVeil is obviously a made-up wnry name. I would love to know who actually made this Syrah. The SantaMaria address and use of HillsideSlctn strongly suggest it came out of the Miller's (BienNacido) CentralCoast Wine Services coop and was probably made by MillerFamilyWines. The density & extract would pretty much rule out this being a BobLindquist wine. But whoever, they really know what they're doing.
Tom