*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Wines of Chile.
I usually pretty up my tasting notes for you. Mainly because they often contain lines such “OMG, yum.” or “The H [meaning Matt] likes.” Today I’ve decided to leave in one such note, which is “Smells like Crayola.” I could pretty that up and tell you it had waxy notes or some such thing, but really, I truly mean it smells like when you open a box of crayons. I chose the last of the Viogniers I have from Chile for the evening, the 2008 Cono Sur Visión Viognier. It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and looks to retail for around $8. At $8, this is a fabulous buy, I’d get it in a heartbeat for that and would probably pay as much as $15 or so for a similar bottle. Oh, and for real, my first tasting note from this bottle is “The H likes.” 😉
On the nose I found lemon, orange blossom, flowers, Crayola, stone, lime, and apricots. It had a gorgeous sweet flowery honey characteristic that I absolutely love about Viogniers. In the mouth I got flavors of pineapple, tropical notes, lime, mandarin oranges, lemon, minerals, wet stone, tangerines, and flowers.
All that in a bottle that can be found for as low as $7.99 on the internet. Definitely worth your time and wine dollars given that $8 can often buy you a terrible bottle of plonk. The gems for $8 are out there though, and I would certainly recommend this one. It will be added to my list of “Great $10 or Under Wine Buys” for 2009.
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 
To get the descriptors you list above for under $8 is a miracle, especially for Viognier fanatics like me – thanks for the tip!
I was in a friend’s car the other day and noticed the same ‘Crayola’ smell. Everyone thought I was crazy but I completely know what you are describing with this one. It is always refreshing to find a great wine for under $8. Great review!
No problem! Thank the Wines of Chile folks for sending it to me.
Thanks Randy. Crayola is such a distinctive aroma!