A blend of three vineyards, the 2015 Viognier Lia was barrel fermented (15% new oak) and aged for 11 months on its lees. It possesses lovely honey-drizzled pears, white peaches and lemon drop scents with hints of nutmeg, coriander seed and white pepper. Medium bodied, it gives a great intensity of stone fruit and spiced pears flavors with bags of freshness and a long, peppery finish.

Produced much like a Chardonnay and delivering a very pretty peach blossom, poached pear and honeysuckle-laced nose, the 2014 Viognier Lia offers concentrated stone fruit and baking spice flavors with a lively backbone and silken texture, finishing long with some yeastiness coming through.

One of the best Viogniers made in all of California is the 2013 Viognier Lia. Barrel-fermented and aged 12 months on its lees and then moved to tank, this wine doesn’t see any new oak. It is a wine of great fragrance, exhibiting notes of apricot jam, honeysuckle, wet stones and some tropical fruit. It is fresh, medium to full-bodied, with crisp acidity and a long finish. Drink it over the next several years. This is the only white made at DuMOL where malolactic fermentation is completely blocked.

The 2012 Viognier Lia (a 230-case cuvée of 100% Viogner) was aged in larger French hogsheads with no malolactic and only 20% new oak. The vines were 14 years of age in 2012. It reveals that steely, wet pebbly, gravelly character that adds a complex nuance to the honeysuckle, peach and apricot fruit. This floral, medium-bodied, steely beauty can be enjoyed over the next 3-4 years.

The 2011 Viognier Lia is fermented largely in neutral wood and stainless steel barrels with a small amount, 12%, kept in new oak. There are 230 cases of the 2011, which reflects some of that vintage’s difficulties. Nevertheless, it is an excellent wine offering notes of white peaches, honeysuckle and apricot marmalade in a medium-bodied, richly fruity, pure, crisp style. Drink it over the next 1-2 years. Since its founding in 1996, DuMol has been one of the superstar wineries of the entire California North Coast. They primarily focus on gorgeous Burgundian-styled Chardonnays from cool micro-climates as well as Pinot Noirs, with the added attraction of one Viognier and one or two Syrahs. They have been consistent from the beginning with winemaker Andy Smith, who has a brilliant record not only at DuMol, but at several other estates where he is the full-time winemaker, particularly the Napa Valley estate of Larkmead, just north of St. Helena. All five 2011 Chardonnays I tasted merit serious attention from consumers. Forget the difficulties of this vintage as DuMol came through with flying colors. All of the 2011 Pinot Noirs were harvested before the heavy rains fell in October, except for the Cuvee Ian, which was completely declassified. The three vintages of Syrah Eddie’s Patch I tasted come from a vineyard called Hoppe-Kelly, which is planted in red soils southeast of Healdsburg, near Chalk Hill. Tel. (925) 254-8922