93pt Mind-Blowing 'Coastal Condrieu' Viognier Cult Bargain

Saturday, August 31st, 2024

You’ve NEVER had a Viognier like this. Salty, crisp, racy, and a huge staff favorite over the past two years and counting. From the hottest new appellation: The SLO Coast

Only 250 Cases Made!

"The finish displays a wonderfully tensile agility that redefines the grape's capabilities."

93 Points - Robert Parker's WA

"...is juicy and racy... with solid purity, it's a vibrant, leaner expression of the variety that stays nicely balanced and elegant."

- Jeb Dunnuck

The wines coming from the San Luis Obispo Coast are the next big thing. This is like buying a racy, crisp, and coastal version of Alban's Viognier for pennies on the dollar. This is NOT your flabby or 'too-perfumey' Viognier. We have a hard time keeping this cult bargain in-stock due to only 250 cases made!

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2023 Aequorea Viognier "Spanish Springs Vineyard"

San Luis Obispo Coast, CA

93 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

"The 2023 Viognier Spanish Springs Vineyard sports a distinctively floral nose of chamomile, jasmine, lilies, orchard and citrus fruit aromas—a rare combination for this variety. The palate combines a medium-bodied richness with fantastic cut, clarity and zestiness without feeling thin or forced into a more slender frame. The finish displays a wonderfully tensile agility that redefines the grape's capabilities. A singular expression and something of a signature wine for Aequorea, I look forward to following this wine's aging curve over the next decade.

Operated in parallel with the Paso Robles-based Aaron Wines, the Aequorea label expresses winemaker Aaron Jackson's native San Luis Obispo Coast. In addition to these spit personalities, he is a relentless, enthusiastic champion for the region as a whole, proving such with his central, instrumental role in spearheading the formation of the San Luis Obispo Coast AVA itself. The Aequorea roster spans the entire region, from Derbyshire in the north to Spanish Springs in the south. The wines are sumptuous and richly textured but never stray from their coastal roots, consistently displaying beautifully saline, tense structures. 2024 - 2034." -ML (Jul 18, 2024)

Jeb Dunnuck:

The 2023 Viognier is juicy and racy, with a kiss of reduction in its tangerine, mint, and exotic flower-like aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, with solid purity, it's a vibrant, leaner expression of the variety that stays nicely balanced and elegant.

Winery Notes: Located 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean in Pismo Beach, Spanish Springs Vineyard covers a series of steep hillsides composed of uplifted marine seabed. It produces vibrant, energetic wines possessing gorgeous aromatics and striking salinity.