2018 Pott Wine Chateauneuf du Pott Vineyard 20M3 Viognier

Pott Wine is a small winery on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley. It was started by Aaron Pott and his wife Claire. Pott previously worked under John Kongsgaard and has been a winemaker at Beringer, St. Clement and Quintessa. He also has worked in France and earned an advanced degree in winemaking at the Universite of Bourgogne. He and his wife source their grapes from Napa Valley and produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Bordeaux-style red blends.

Mount Veeder AVA was established in 1993, though its origins as a wine producing district date to the 19th century. A German Presbyterian pastor named Peter Veeder was one of the first landowners in the area, and by 1864 one of his neighbors, a German sea captain named Stelham Wing, was producing wine commercially. The area continued to attract German agricultural entrepreneurs, some of whom established the estate that would later become the Christian Brothers Mont La Salle winery. Today the AVA includes about 1,000 acres of vineyards, most of them at relatively high altitudes. The Mayacamas vineyard, for instance, is at 2,400 feet. Cabernet Sauvignon is the most frequently planted grape, followed by Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

This is a full-bodied white variety has plenty of natural aromatics such as peach and violets. It’s a low yielding fruit, so it is grown for its taste over its economics. Viognier is considered an ancient grape and an early favorite of the Roman emperors.