2017 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Viognier, Santa Barbara County
Tasting Notes
91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck “…exuberance and fruit, with beautiful apricot, pineapple, honeysuckle, and white flower notes. It’s a rounded, sexy white that has loads of Viognier character while staying nicely balanced. Make sure you serve it on the cool side.” ~ 91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Color
Pale straw
Flavors
Yellow peach
White nectarine
Apricot
Citrus
Lemon zest
Vanilla
Roasted almond
Aromas
Honeysuckle
Apricot
Peach
Baking spices
Graham cracker
Vanilla
Specs
Vintage: 2017
Composition: 100% Viognier
Appellation: Santa Barbara County
Vineyard Source: 100% Rodney’s Vineyard (Blocks K1, G & I) located in the Santa Ynez Valley on the Fess Parker Home Ranch
Barrel Aging: 100% barrel fermented & aged for 9 months in 7% new French oak
Brix: 25.7-28.0 Brix
Alcohol: 14.2%
p.H.: 3.42
T.A.: 0.711 g/100ml
Production: 1312 cases
Included in the Box
4-bottles:
4x 2017 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Viognier, Santa Barbara County
Case:
12x 2017 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Viognier, Santa Barbara County
When Fess Parker was cast in the roll of Davy Crockett in the mid-1950’s, it caused an international sensation and changed his life forever. So too did the purchase of 714 acres in the Santa Ynez Valley change the course of the Parker family’s history.
Realizing the potential of Santa Barbara County as a premium grape-growing region, Fess and his son, Eli, originally set out in 1989 to plant a small vineyard and sell fruit to local producers. But, as Fess’ daughter, Ashley explains, “Fess is from Texas, so he can’t do anything small. “The Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard now farms almost 700 acres on four vineyards throughout Santa Barbara County.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
@MSUMike If you were around November of 2011, you may have purchased the 2009 FS Vio @winedavid49 offered on W00t!.
I’ll dig one out later today, for science.
@klezman@MSUMike@rjquillin they do a great job with this variety, usually getting it from a couple of different sites and picking it at different brix levels. Definitely tends to be more ‘fuller bodied’ than acid driven, but a great example of that type of domestic viognier if you’re looking for it. Cheers!
@klezman@MSUMike@rjquillin@tercerowines
Or maybe because Fess Parker was a fairly famous actor known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone and starring in Old Yeller.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard Viognier - $30 = 14.27%
My bottle arrived Friday afternoon. Once the box was opened it went into the wine cooler to relax and chill. We decided we would taste this wine with some cheese and crackers.
The nose is very fresh and color was beautiful, a pale golden. The first sip made me say wow, totally not what I was expecting. It was alive, very fruit forward, right away I tasted peach and vanilla. I don’t know how else to explain it, but it has a very comforting feel. After one glass each to taste, we decided it was too good to have with just cheese and crackers. We capped it and will finish the bottle properly tonight with fresh mahi.
This price point is perfect for this bottle of wine. I highly recommend it.
@jennyc93 thanks for the notes, Santa Barbara county does well with the varietal. I’m up here this weekend visiting some wineries and most offer a pretty solid viognier.
Our first order on the old site was the Fess Parker Critter Quartet on October 11th, 2016. Our 13th order on the old site was a three-pack of Fess Parker 2005 Viognier. We couldn’t resist another quartet a little more than 14 years later…
Lab rat reporting! We got our bottle Thursday evening, which meant we could tailor Shabbat dinner plans to go with it, instead of trying to shoehorn a wine mismatch into our dinner! So, we had Indian food – butter chicken and butter paneer, rojan josh, oh, and sourdough I made. (I was doing it before the fad, people. And my bread is damned fine.)
We’re also a big Viognier house. My sweetie Leo (whom some of you met at the initial Casemates backer event in California) is more a red wine guy, but he does love Viognier, so this was right up his alley. Our most recent purchase was the J Wilkes Viognier in August.
It’s 95 degrees here this weekend with no AC, so we had this in the fridge, maybe a bit cooler than needed.
Leo says, “Fruit nose, with apricot or peach, less floral flavor. Maybe a bit of apple or some tart component. When tasting, light and on the dry side. Fruit-forward flavors. Backnote of spice. Only the barest hint of mineral/earth. Dry, clean, slightly sweet finish. Not as heavy as another Viognier I recently had.” He means the J Wilkes. "It has the complexity of Viognier without being heavy."
I would add that it has a fruitiness that makes it taste initially less dry than it is. It held up really well to spicy Indian foods. It has the inherent “robustness” and complexity of a Viognier, so it wasn’t washed out by the other flavors, while still feeling refreshing for summer.
Honestly, a lovely wine. We’d be ordering a case, but we’re taking an ordering break after a couple of months of some serious alcohol purchasing. Sooo much rum, yall.
Just twisted the top on an '09, and it’s done surprisingly well. Still abundant, while not ‘fresh’ fruit, acidity hanging in there so it’s not cloying, and I get that robustness mentioned as well. Full creamy mouth with a touch of tang; short simple finish at this point. The closure had done it’s job well. Not bad at all for a $16 Vio that’s now 11.
2017 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Viognier, Santa Barbara County
Tasting Notes
91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
“…exuberance and fruit, with beautiful apricot, pineapple, honeysuckle, and white flower notes. It’s a rounded, sexy white that has loads of Viognier character while staying nicely balanced. Make sure you serve it on the cool side.” ~ 91 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Color
Flavors
Aromas
Specs
Included in the Box
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$418.00/Case at Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard for 12x 2017 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Viognier, Santa Barbara
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 9 - Wednesday, Nov 11
Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard Viognier
4 bottles for $69.99 $17.50/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $179.99 $15/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 Fess Parker Viognier
Something about this name sounds familiar… waiting for a labrat and if any of my old dfw friends decide to go in on a case i might be interested.
@MSUMike If you were around November of 2011, you may have purchased the 2009 FS Vio @winedavid49 offered on W00t!.
I’ll dig one out later today, for science.
@MSUMike @rjquillin May also be familiar because @tercerowines cut his teeth there and he’s mentioned it several times during his offers.
@klezman @MSUMike @rjquillin they do a great job with this variety, usually getting it from a couple of different sites and picking it at different brix levels. Definitely tends to be more ‘fuller bodied’ than acid driven, but a great example of that type of domestic viognier if you’re looking for it. Cheers!
@klezman @MSUMike @rjquillin @tercerowines
Or maybe because Fess Parker was a fairly famous actor known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone and starring in Old Yeller.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard Viognier - $30 = 14.27%
My bottle arrived Friday afternoon. Once the box was opened it went into the wine cooler to relax and chill. We decided we would taste this wine with some cheese and crackers.
The nose is very fresh and color was beautiful, a pale golden. The first sip made me say wow, totally not what I was expecting. It was alive, very fruit forward, right away I tasted peach and vanilla. I don’t know how else to explain it, but it has a very comforting feel. After one glass each to taste, we decided it was too good to have with just cheese and crackers. We capped it and will finish the bottle properly tonight with fresh mahi.
This price point is perfect for this bottle of wine. I highly recommend it.
@jennyc93 thanks for the notes, Santa Barbara county does well with the varietal. I’m up here this weekend visiting some wineries and most offer a pretty solid viognier.
@CorTot @jennyc93 @cortot, stop on by at my tercero wines tasting room in Los Olivos - I’m here all weekend long!!!
@jennyc93 @tercerowines thanks Larry.
I was up yesterday and was focused on places I hadn’t stopped before.
Also it was stupid hot up there, 102!?!?
@CorTot @jennyc93 Bummer - I had freshly baked biscotti. Oh well - best not to overlook me
@jennyc93 Thank you for the report. Glad you had some time to chill it.
Nothing against this wine per se, but has Jeb Dunnuck become the James Suckling of domestic wines?
Not that one should live by ratings but 91 pts is about the lowest I’ve ever seen him give…94 is a barely passable weeknight wine.
I do like me some Viognier, but JDs ratings are about as useless as they come…
Pretty quiet around here - anyone know where the winery representative is?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Probably my all time
Favorite Viognier.
So glad to have Fess back!
Our first order on the old site was the Fess Parker Critter Quartet on October 11th, 2016. Our 13th order on the old site was a three-pack of Fess Parker 2005 Viognier. We couldn’t resist another quartet a little more than 14 years later…
/giphy touching-conniving-rice
Lab rat reporting! We got our bottle Thursday evening, which meant we could tailor Shabbat dinner plans to go with it, instead of trying to shoehorn a wine mismatch into our dinner! So, we had Indian food – butter chicken and butter paneer, rojan josh, oh, and sourdough I made. (I was doing it before the fad, people. And my bread is damned fine.)
We’re also a big Viognier house. My sweetie Leo (whom some of you met at the initial Casemates backer event in California) is more a red wine guy, but he does love Viognier, so this was right up his alley. Our most recent purchase was the J Wilkes Viognier in August.
It’s 95 degrees here this weekend with no AC, so we had this in the fridge, maybe a bit cooler than needed.
Leo says, “Fruit nose, with apricot or peach, less floral flavor. Maybe a bit of apple or some tart component. When tasting, light and on the dry side. Fruit-forward flavors. Backnote of spice. Only the barest hint of mineral/earth. Dry, clean, slightly sweet finish. Not as heavy as another Viognier I recently had.” He means the J Wilkes. "It has the complexity of Viognier without being heavy."
I would add that it has a fruitiness that makes it taste initially less dry than it is. It held up really well to spicy Indian foods. It has the inherent “robustness” and complexity of a Viognier, so it wasn’t washed out by the other flavors, while still feeling refreshing for summer.
Honestly, a lovely wine. We’d be ordering a case, but we’re taking an ordering break after a couple of months of some serious alcohol purchasing. Sooo much rum, yall.
@TrinSF Thanks for the review. I definitely need to give Viognier more attention.
Just twisted the top on an '09, and it’s done surprisingly well. Still abundant, while not ‘fresh’ fruit, acidity hanging in there so it’s not cloying, and I get that robustness mentioned as well. Full creamy mouth with a touch of tang; short simple finish at this point. The closure had done it’s job well. Not bad at all for a $16 Vio that’s now 11.
I’d like to get more than 4, but can’t do 12. I’d be very happy with 6 at the case price - anyone in SF Bay Area interested in splitting a case?
If any buyers in Mass are willing to part with a few bottles, hit me up!
In for a case. Enjoy SB vios though Larry’s @tercerowines is our favorite!
/giphy capricious-toothy-morning