If I mentioned Condrieu or Château Grillet, would you know the grape variety involved? Regulars readers of the column will, no doubt, but my suspicion is that many of you will be shrugging your shoulders, maybe even wondering what or where on earth Condrieu or Château Grillet are? For a long time, viognier was the yeti of the wine world. We suspected it was lurking there somewhere in France’s Himalayas, aka the northern Rhône Valley, but not many people had actually made a sighting of the mysterious, albeit far from abominable, snowman.

It’s because unlike chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, viognier was once confined to two very small appellations indeed (at 3.8 hectares Château Grillet is one of France’s smallest) and the wines of Condrieu and Château Grillet were prohibitively expensive. When intrepid explorers eventually entered the valley and tasted, it dawned on them that viognier was capable of making some of the most voluptuous and opulent dry whites in the world, the word spread, and along with the word, so did the variety to the New World.

Viognier begins at home though starting on Condrieu’s doorstep in the Rhône hills themselves in wines like the jasmine-scented 2009 Viognier de Rosine, Stéphane Ogier, £16.00 bottle / case, Genesis Wines (020 79639060) and appetisingly rich and sensually creamy dry whites like the delicious 2009 Pierre Gaillard Les Gendrines Côtes du Rhône Blanc, £18.25, or £16.50, bottle / case, Lea & Sandeman (020 7244 0522); or, in a blend with marsanne and roussanne, the intense fresh peach and pineapple concentration of a 2010 St.Cosme Côtes du Rhône Blanc, £15.95, or £14.35 bottle / case, Vagabond Wines, Fulham (02073811717).

What this all means is that whereas Condrieu and Château Grillet were pretty much the elite preserve of the rich, viognier has today become mainstream. Even if it rarely achieves what Andrew Jefford in the New Wines of France calls ‘the aromatic power and glycerous fullness it achieves’ on the terraces of the Rhône, some of its heady floral scent and sensuality and its full-bodied peach-rich fruit is at least captured in manifestions of viognier in the new World.

Led by the pioneering Yalumba, Australia has taken viognier to heart, producing fine examples in wines like the floral, powerfully rich, spicily oaked and beautifully balanced 2008 Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier, £10.44, Waitrose. South Africa is showing an increasing aptitude with, and appetite for, the variety doing a fine job with whites like Bellingham’s 2009 The Bernard Series Viognier, Franschhoek Valley, £9.99, Majestic, a powerful dry white whose refreshing spritz brings the exotically peachy fruit to vivid life here. Chile too is making a good fist of it, so much so that for sheer value, the honeysuckle-scented and ripe peachy 2010 Yali Reserva Viognier, Colchagua Valley, £.7.99, buy 2 = £5.99, Majestic, is a tough one to beat at the price.

If you want to go back to basics however to see what all the fuss was about in the first place, try Pierre Benetière’s thoroughly seductive 2008 Condrieu, £31.99, Uncorked (020 7638 5998), a classic of aroma, texture and finesse from Pierre Benetière, or Guigal’s 2008 Condrieu, £28.99, Waitrose, whose subtle touch of oak and floral honeysuckle and jasmine-suffused bouquet is richly concentrated and juicy with classic apricot ripeness and above all, a genuine freshness that brings finesse and balance to what could so easily be overwhelming, but isn’t. www.anthonyrosewine.com

Something for the Weekend

Under £6

2009 Alain Grignon Carignan Vieilles Vignes

Not only does this old vine carignan from southern France’s Vin de Pays de l’Hérault look good but its bright vivid fruitiness (think nubile fresh beaujolais) is succulently cherryishly gluggy and appetizing. £6.99, buy 2 = £5.49, Majestic

Under a Tenner

2008 Château Jolys Jurançon Sec

A distinctive South-West blend of the local petit and gros manseng grapes produces apricoty aromas and a ripe yet refreshingly zesty pink grapefruit quality on the palate that will have your mouth watering at the prospect. £9.99, Waitrose

Splash Out

2009 M3 Chardonnay, Shaw and Smith, Adelaide Hills

Polished, new wave Aussie chardonnay with buttered popcorn aromas and complex peachy fruitiness combining subtle oak, limey acidity and burgundian-style winemaking. Around £24.99, Cooden Cellars (01323 649 663), Noel Young Wines (01223 566744), Majestic Fine Wine.