Big banana-nectarine-mango nose doling out rich elegance to anyone in its way. A spicy citrus element stumbles alongside–not trying to overtake, but not successful in staying out-of-sight either. Glassy and buttery, still and glycerin-y while maintaining a relative vibrancy, it takes classic Viognier profiles down studied paths of high-extraction.

Paul Frankel of Sclupterra fame in Paso Robles makes these beautiful screen-printed bottles to benefit Medical Missions to Mexico for the hardest-working group in the wine industry. They are about 20 bucks or slightly under–I have seen them as low as 15–and well-distributed at groceries around SOCAL. I highly recommend finding them and trying them. Bang-for-the-bucvk can NOT be beat, and if you know Frankel and the Sculpterra programme, it only raises the stakes.

In the mouth, buttery applesauce and alcohol meld together to make a white wine definitely positioned in a red-wine-lover’s spectrum. Pineapple and more mango toy headily with the apparent 14+ to make an almost-dessert-like nectar of hi-proof beauty. A fun wine to drink with lean foods and let it do all the talking.

2016 HEROE Viognier Paso Robles California 15.3

sculpterra.com/heroe