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This Viognier was sourced from three coveted sites in Santa Barbara, the Bien Nacido, Sanford & Benedict and White Hawk vineyards. Because of the cool climate - as well as the vintage – the fruit was ripe at harvest but also high in acidity. Winemaking focused on maintaining freshness and pure fruit flavors by aging in neutral oak and limiting malolactic fermentation to 70%. This Jaffurs Viognier impresses with the opulent aromatics one expects from the variety but also a palate that’s lithe and fresh and never overpowering. Antonio Galloni called it “sublime,” highlighting that “light tropical notes, ginger, mint, and apricot all meld together effortlessly."
If you are in Santa Barbara, you won’t have to travel far to visit Jaffurs Wine Cellars. With its location in the heart of this lively, picturesque, ocean-side city, you can pop in for a glass of Grenache after hitting the boutiques or before a crawl through the neighborhood’s many bars, restaurants and craft breweries. However, because Jaffurs is a full-on winery and not just a city tasting room, you may also get to see grapes being crushed, tanks racked, or pallets of wine moved around on forklifts.
Discovering that his passion for wine surpassed mere drinking and collecting, Craig Jaffurs left a comfy job in the aerospace industry to apprentice in the cellar of Santa Barbara Winery for several years, before taking the plunge and starting his own winery. In 1994, Jaffurs released his first commercial vintage. At that time, Santa Barbara winegrowers had begun to embrace the region’s cool climate (as well as the market post-Sideways) and embarked on massive plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But Jaffurs had a hunch that the region held as much promise for grapes of the Rhone Valley as it did for those of Bourgogne. Hence, Jaffurs Cellars dedicated themselves to Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc.
While Jaffurs does not own any vineyards, the winery has developed close relationships with growers in Santa Ynez, Ballard Canyon, Santa Rita, Los Alamos, and Santa Maria growing regions. Some stand-out vineyards providing fruit for Jaffurs’s wines include the Thompson, Bien Nacido, Larner, Kimsey, and Stolpman vineyards. The wines are produced in small lots at the Santa Barbara facility, where total production rarely exceeds 5,000 cases per year. Recently retired, Craig Jaffurs is an advisor to current owners Dan and Janelle Green, who carry on the tradition of running Jaffurs Cellar as a family-owned producer of some of the best Rhone-style wines along the Central Coast.
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Appellation(s) | Santa Barbara County |
| Winery | Jaffurs |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Color | White |
| Varietal(s) | Viognier |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 8.0 x 30.0 |
| Case Size | 35.5 x 26.5 x 31.0 |
| Alcohol | 14.2% |
| Product Code | JF23VIO |
| UPC | 893235000019 |
| MLF | 70% |
92 points – Antonio Galloni; 90 points – Wine Enthusiast.
Aromas of pear and citrus proliferate with floral notes, ginger, and spice adding complexity. A medium-bodied and fresh palate follows, layered with flavors of peach, apricot, and apple, and finishing with zesty acidity and chalky minerality.
The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for 6 months in 60% stainless steel and 40% neutral oak; malolactic fermentation was held to 70%