winegeist

This is how I came to review Gerard Bertrand Viognier 2010 today: Several years back, a friend returned from the south of France with one of the finest substances ever to pass my lips. The wine of power and poise in question was a Gerard Bertrand Le Viala 2001. I snapped up the few I could find back here in the states, but very little came into the country and I haven’t seen anything more recent that 2002 and can only assume they’re no longer exporting it. Other friends retrieved a 6-pack of the 2005 Le Viala (which had gotten expensive) directly from the winery a couple of years ago. I have since seen nothing available outside of France. Recently, at my local(est) wine shop, I saw and immediately purchased 4 red, 2 rose, and 1 white, all Gerard Bertrand, and all under $15.

Light, crisp, and inexpensive.

I’m listening to Tom Waits’ The Heart of Saturday Night (1974) and trying fathom just how many Marlboros were required to turned that voice into the one on Small Change (1976), which ground out “Bad Liver and a Broken Heart” and “The Piano Has Been Drinking”. Granted, the grittiness of Waits’ vocal tone was often exaggerated for effect, but in his softest moments on “Drunk on the Moon” and “Heart of Saturday Night,” he’s more silk than sandpaper. Waits has been doing his own thing for a very long time at this point, and while a number of his more recent records have been largely noise projects, at the heart of it, he’s one of the greatest living storytellers, and he’s worn so many voices.

In the glass, the Gerard Bertrand Viognier 2010 is very pale gold and from first sip, the palate is soft and integrated, but its lively, palate cleansing, acidity gives it significant vitality. It’s ripe with pear, peach, apricot, melon, pineapple, and orange blossom. At its price point, this ’10 Gerard Bertrand Viognier is a top notch summer white that will pair well with most poultry, fish, pasta, and salads.