Pouring: d’Arenberg The Hermit Crab

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On Friday and Saturday this week, I'll be hosting a tasting at Liquor Direct. On Friday, you'll find me at the Fort Thomas Covington location and on Saturday I'll be at the Covington Fort Thomas location. My theme, of sorts, is Spring Wines (or perhaps, Wines That Remind Me of Spring). All week I"ll be posting the tasting notes for some of the wines I'll have on my table. Come out to the tasting this weekend – I'd love to see you and the tasting is free!
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The Hermit Crab from d'Arenberg, Viognier Marsanne 2008

I went to Liquor Direct several times last week to gather up various white Rhone varietals – Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne … I wanted to have at least one, if not several of these on my table. (Turns out, I'm having trouble coming up with a second red for the "I only drink reds" drinkers.) One of the bottles I took home was The Hermit Crab.

What a funny name. In fact, they call it the Hermit Crab to encourage you to drink this with shellfish and seafood. I think it would also work fairly well with ham, but don't quote me on that. I tend to pair things terribly. Hermit Crab also short for Hermitage, the French appellation where Viognier is grown. But this Hermitage is from Australia, a combination of McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. The Hermit Crab is a blend of 72% Viognier and 28% Marsanne.

It's a nice pale straw / hay color. On the nose are a lot of peach and pear blossoms, lots of spring blooms and tulips. It continues to be a floral wine in your mouth as well. There is a little bit of fruit loops, which I love to find in any viognier, but it also tastes an awful lot like drinking flowers. Just because it's a floral white doesn't mean it's a wimpy wine though. The Hermit Crab is round and full, but is also nicely balanced with acidity and spices from the marsanne. It certainly disappeared quickly enough in our house.

Our review:

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