Their estate windmill (moulin in French) lends its name to this blend of 60% roussanne/40% viognier from the blustery Coyote Canyon Vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills appellation.
This is the wine that made it perfectly clear to me how talented the Pouillons are as winemakers. Typically, we save our adulation for trophy wines, wines that cost per bottle what this little beauty does a case. Or at the very least, we worship at the alter of the "big" grapes, most of which are reds.
When was the last time you heard of someone raving about a roussanne/viognier blend? Never. Because not only are these very important Rhône whites not chardonnay, they aren't often put together in a two-grape blend to begin with. (Creating odd couples appears to be a Domaine Pouillon pattern, however.) Viognier is a freak. It is unbelievably expressive, yet it, like gewürztraminer perhaps, is also capable of being so flabby and acidity challenged that it can result in wines that have the consistency of syrup.
Roussanne tempers the viognier's baser qualities in this wine. It lends some backbone to the lovely floral and ripe notes offered up by the viognier. It's mind boggling to me how these two opposites could even be grown in the same vineyard. The Pouillons, in a neat counter-intuitive way, seem to focus on what might work between two disparate grapes (Pierre is an example, as well) rather than what might not, which is what most winemakers would do.
The 2007 Moulin shows rich stone fruit, honey and dewy floral notes. Finishing with a citrusy flourish, it’s an apt match for fruity or tangy white meat and fish dishes.
While I'm not usually one to tell people what temperature to serve any wine (though I certainly have my opinions), in the case of the Blanc du Moulin, I feel I must. Because of the serious ripeness of the fruit (Alexis said that his analysis indicated that the potential alcohol for this wine was a whopping 14.9%), this wine shouldn't be served right out of the fridge. If you do, you'll get a lot of the alcohol and none of the nuance. That said, once you take it out of the fridge, you won't need an ice bucket to keep it cool. I've had bottles open during tastings for the better part of an hour, and the Moulin just gets better and better as it slowly warms up. So, don't treat it like a white and don't treat it like a red. It's somewhere in the middle.
352 cases produced
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Martin Brothers for $17.99/bottle Sold out!!!! But Martin Brothers has the 2008 and it's the same price.
Penn Wine & Spirits for $19/bottle Sold out!!!!
Surburban Wines & Spirits $19.99/bottle Sold out!!!!
Telepan for $54/bottle Sold out!!!!
235 cases produced
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Blue Hill Restaurant (under the Pierre Noire label that is being phased out) for $15/glass; $60/bottle Sold Out!!!
P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $33/bottle Sold Out!!!
This is the second vintage of this wine for me. The first (the '07) was wildly successful. Which both did and didn't surprise me. Didn't: Because, very simply, it was a great wine, well made, reflecting the grape varieties used in it and the place it came from. Did: Many of us, whether we realize it or not, prefer our whites on the insipid side, leaving the complexity and power for the reds in our drinking lives.The '07 Blanc du Moulin, like the 2008, is a BIG wine. Big in the sense that Rhône-style whites just are. The 2007 clocked in at a healthy 14.4% alcohol level. And it could have been higher, but Alexis Pouillon put the brakes on.
The 2008 is a tick more at 14.5%. Crazy. But not really. Alcohol, like any other piece of a wine's puzzle, is a releative measurement. When the wine is in balance, the alcohol, like the acidity, like the tannins, like the oak employed (if there is any), nothing sticks out. The 2008 actually came across to me as showing less alcohol than the '07. Go figure.
The cèpage (a fancy-sounding French word—in fairness, all French words sound fancy—for the grape mix) is noticeably different in the '08. It is 80% roussanne with the balance being viognier. Last year's was 60% roussanne/40% viognier. Why the change? Just because that's the way the Pouillons thought they needed to go based on the growing season in '08.
The '08, like the '07, is rich and redolent of all sorts of flowers and stone fruit. When it's a bit chilled, it's all roussanne, showing honeysuckle, apple blossom and paraffin. As it warms, the viognier emerges in texture and honeyed apricot notes. But don't call it sweet. It's simply very, very ripe.
200 cases produced; 10 months aging in 5-year-old neutral Burgundian oak.
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Frankly Wines for $21/bottle
Martin Brothers for $17.99/bottle
Suburban for $19.99/bottle
Winesby.com for $20/bottle
Annisa for $45/bottle
West Side Steakhouse for $38/bottle
The '09 Deux is the second vintage of this blend I've carried. The 2007 was much more chardonnay heavy at 80%. The current version is 55% chardonnay/45% viognier from the Columbia Valley AVA (the chardonnay is from a vineyard in the Columbia Gorge; the viognier is from a vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills).
The 2009 Deux is a deft balance of citrus (chardonnay) and tropical (viognier) fruit notes. The nose hints more at the chard, while its texture and richness lean toward the viognier, making it a favorable match to a range of foods, from fatty sushi to aromatically sauced fish and white meat dishes.
Alcohol 14%
10 months aging in neutral French oak; 5 months sur lie
232-case production
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Kennedy's for $13/glass; $43/bottle
P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $33/bottle
Jewett Creek Vineyard, the source of grapes for this wine, is located in the misty hills overlooking the dramatic Columbia River Gorge in White Salmon, Washington. This particular spot, in the relatively new Columbia Gorge appellation, is ideal for the difficult gewürztraminer grape.
Thanks to a cool growing season, the 2010 shows beautifully restrained grapefruit and mineral notes, with none of the sometimes over-the-top fruit that gewürz often exhibits.
Alcohol 13.9%
162-case production
100% stainless steel
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Vestry Wines for $23/bottle
The 2007 Viognier represents the sixth vintage from the same vineyard in Lodi. Bill strongly believes that viognier needs more warmth in the vineyard than Sonoma County can typically be assured of providing each year, thus he chose to source the fruit far afield from his base in the Alexander Valley.
Sadly, there will not be a 2008 or 2009 vintage. Arbios, perhaps suffering from a bit of viognier fatigue (it's not the most loyal of subjects), is taking a pass on these two years. But, weather permitting, there should be a '10. In '11, that is.
And to keep it in your mind's eye, here's a nice writeup about it: Viognier blog.
When served cool, the 2007 Viognier shows off its grapefruity tanginess; as it warms, the inherent body of viognier steps up with yellow flower and stone fruit accents. It’s an apt match for exotically sauced fish, chicken and white meat dishes.
613 cases produced
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Ehrlich's Wines & Liquors for $21/bottle SOLD OUT!!!
Greene Grape Downtown for $20.75/bottle SOLD OUT!!!
Dovetail for $62/bottle SOLD OUT!!!
Print. for $40/bottle SOLD OUT!!!
So, as promised, the '10 arrived in '11 after a long wait in between vintages (the '07 was the last edition of this wine). The 2010 Viognier is Bill’s first vintage from a new vineyard source in the Russian River Valley. The previous six editions were from Lodi. Interestingly, Bill has long thought that Sonoma County was a bit too cool for this variety. But he found a beautifully situated vineyard and pulled up his Lodi viognier roots, so to speak.
The RRV version is NOTHING like its predecessors. I loved the '07 in spite of the fact that it simply wasn't very viognier-like. I love the 2010 more because it is viognier-like. Viognier, which had its 15 minutes in California about 15 years ago, is typically treated more like chardonnay. In other words, it's permitted to get quite ripe (with a corresponding high level of alcohol from those ripe grapes) and is oaked. In its native appellations in the Northern Rhône (Condrieu and Château Grillet), it's apt to be hit by lots and lots of oak, most of it brand new. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not.
The California versions, for the most part, were Condrieu knockoffs. But the problem was that our warmer growing season meant that those wines skewed toward the less-successful French versions. Bill countered by using only stainless steel in order to retain freshness, something that is crucial because viognier doesn't have the inherent acidity of many other white grapes. He also doesn't permit malolactic fermentation to take place, ensuring that the resulting wine will remain even fresher. (If you're interested in what malolactic fermentation is, do a search on the site.)
All of this means that the 2010 is much more recognizably viognier-like than its predecessors. Fragrant notes of honeydew melon and light citrus are framed by a ripe mouth-feel. It pairs well with exotically sauced fish and chicken dishes.
Alcohol 13.7%
500-case production
100% stainless steel fermentation; no malolactic; sustainably grown
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California Wine Merchants for $20.99/bottle
Brushstroke for $42/bottle
Dovetail for $62/bottle
L'Ecole, the restaurant of the French Culinary Institute for $42/bottle
Toquade is French for “infatuation.” Christine Barbe is from Bordeaux, and makes this dry-farmed, single-vineyard SB in a style falling somewhere between Sancerre’s verve and Bordeaux Blanc's roundness. Her style is decidedly not Kiwi, however. No gooseberry/bubble gum stuff here. Just pure, transparent SB the way the grape's originators in the Loire intended.
The fruit comes from an organic, dry-farmed vineyard in Yountville that was planted in 1978.
The 2008 Toquade is two wines in one: When chilled, it exhibits classic SB notes of cut grass, citrus and minerals. As it warms, apple and pear show themselves, though always with a continued citric tanginess.
250 cases produced
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Penn Wine & Spirits for $24/bottle Sold out!!!
Print. for $44/bottle Sold Out!!! Print. has the 2009 for $46/bottle.
P.D. O'Hurley's @ West End for $13/glass; $42/bottle Sold out!!! P.D. O'Hurley's has the 2009 for the same prices.
Toquade is French for “infatuation.” Christine Barbe is from Bordeaux, and makes this dry-farmed, single-vineyard SB in a style falling somewhere between Sancerre’s verve and Bordeaux Blanc's roundness. Her style is decidedly not Kiwi, however. No gooseberry/bubble gum stuff here. Just pure, transparent SB the way the grape's originators in the Loire intended.
The fruit comes from an organic, dry-farmed vineyard in Yountville that was planted in 1978.
The 2009 Toquade, thanks to a cooler and rainier growing season than usual, is less grassy and citric than its predecessors. Instead, it shows clean passionfruit and kiwi notes, buoyed by minerally acidity.
350 cases produced
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California Wine Merchants for $25.99/bottle
First & Vine for $29.99/bottle
Maslow6 for $26/bottle
Penn Wine for $24/bottle SOLD OUT!!!
Royal Wine Merchants for $24/bottle
Blue Hill for $58/bottle
Brushstroke for $56/bottle
Dovetail for $50/bottle
Kennedy's for $15/glass; $45/bottle
P.D. O'Hurley's @West End for $13/glass; $42/bottle
Print. for $51/bottle