By Farr Viognier 2006

Of all Gary Farr’s wines, this is (arguably) lesser, falling behind the Chardonnay, Pinot & occasionally the Shiraz in the quality stakes. Still, being a Gary Farr wine, you well know that it’s going to be (at least) interesting.

Indeed, it smells fantastic. Obviously dipping the lid to Condrieu, this smells like rich and complex, finely balanced Viognier. It’s quite a floral nose, pretty and not too sweet, the headiness of Viognier tempered somewhat by lees and barrel work, making for a really inviting and classic nose.

It’s the transition to palate where things come unstuck. It starts with the apricot bar and sweetened condensed milk like flavour of modern Viognier, but the pretty and quite complex nose really struggling to translate into any sort of length. Indeed, from about mid palate onwards this just falls away to nothingness, with a little fillip of acidity the only remnant.

In fact, after about the third glass this simply fell to pieces. I actually ended up leaving half a bottle in a friends fridge as I moved back onto trusty, tasty James Squire Golden Ale to look for some sort of flavour fix.

If you have any, drink up now and enjoy the deliciousness promised by the nose, for that’s the most joy to be found here. 16.0