Singer Baker Lane Estate, Viognier, Sonoma Coast, California, 2022

Overview of the Wine
Located in the Sebastopol Hills of West Sonoma County, the Baker Lane Estate is a cool-weather, west facing site with undulating hillside terrain. The Baker Lane Estate vineyards are devoted exclusively to the northern Rhône Valley varieties of Syrah and Viognier.

In 2002 Sebastopol was already well into its transition from a region famous for apples to a vanguard perch in the quest for cooler grape-growing terroir. We loved the area for its beauty and slightly out of the way-ness, but could we grow Syrah of great distinction here? The truth is, I didn’t know.

What I had come to understand, though, from years of visiting many of the world’s great wine regions, is that the world’s best wines were made from grapes that necessarily struggled to achieve maturity. I came to understand that the best grape choice (memorialized repeatedly by the emphatically chosen cultivars for all great viticultural zones) is the one that just barely gets ripe. In doing so, the grapes enjoy more time on the vine developing complexity, color, structure, balance and depth of flavor while avoiding over-ripeness and declining acidity.

Grape / Blend
Viognier

Origin
Sonoma, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Our 2022 Singer Viognier has a lush golden color that shows greenish hints at certain angles. In every respect it is a worthy successor to its widely admired 2021 predecessor, although if anything, it shows a touch more volume and texture on the palate. In achieving this, we can happily report that the former’s sense of a bright acid core and palate liveliness were not sacrificed in the least. The wine’s tropical floral and stone fruit inflected aromas clues into its precise varietal identity, but when it comes to California Viognier, we believe it stands alone for its ability to marry successfully with all kinds of dishes. Just about any lobster (or other shellfish) dish would shine alongside it and spicy vegetarian or chicken preparations would benefit easily as well.
 

Product size: 750ml