YALUMBA EDEN VALLEY VIOGNIER 2010

- Eden Valley, SA

- $16-$25

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Despite being Australia's self appointed champion of viognier, I used to think Yalumba held a single ace in their pack when it came to the white Rhône variety. However, recent years have caused a rethink on my behalf, as Louisa Rose and her team are fashioning more complexity and restrained elegance into their entry level wines. The Eden Valley Viognier in particular, is starting to show flashes of becoming a mini-Virgilius.

Apparently lacking the savoury elegance and charm I'd hoped for, the 2010 Eden Valley Viognier initially opts towards a primary, fruit driven fragrance of tinned peaches, apricot juice and lychees, with a floral, rose petal-like edge contradicted by a spiky, erratic hit of exotic spice. It does flirt with pungency on the nose and I might look over this at a speed tasting, but then, as if right on cue, the palate comes forth and saves the day, by delivering a bright, long and creamy expression of well controlled varietal flavour. It's bold and slightly unctuous, unleashing a real mouthful of white peach, apricot skin and citrus zest characters, before it finishes long with creamy apricot notes and a penetrative framework of glistening, grapefruit-like acids, all washed around the mouth with a touch of phenolic fuzz which dances to a funky beat whilst staying true to the rhythm. For a pungently varietal, fruity viognier, it works.

ü I generally don't go for viogniers like this and on inspection of the nose I thought; 'ooh. Looks like another one of those viogniers Chris.' But amazingly, it's a load of fun to drink. It is quite (stone) fruity and vaguely phenolic in the typical viognier way, but its textural richness, penetrative length and balancing acids complete a fine wine. It ain't no mini-Virgilius though. Drink to 2013.

91 points

www.yalumba.com

HAHNDORF HILL WINERY 'GRU' GRÜNER VELTLINER 2011

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $28

- Screwcap

- 12.0%alc

Larry Jacobs and Marc Dobson started the ball rolling with their first grüner veltliner (2010-90pts), setting the pace for several other Adelaide Hills vignerons who are now keen to adopt the variety as a regional specialty. In coming years, expect to see 'gru-vees' from the likes of Geoff Hardy's K1 label, Henschke, Deviation Road, Nova Vita, Mt Bera and doubtless others.

Hahndorf Hill's 2011 GRU is fresh and simple yet fashionably delicate, with a pristine fragrance of ripe nashi pears lifted by notes of apple blossom and white flower, providing perfumed appeal in an enticingly feminine, youthful manner. Energetically driven and harnessed by a brisk movement of mouth-watering acids, its texturally sound palate delivers a clean accent of white-fleshed fruits and lemons which develop more chalk and pear skin-like flavour down the line, but ultimately, it's about as spotless as a Ferrari with a kilometre on the clock. There's a noted evolution in structure and movement in the 2011, conveyed without sacrificing any purity of character, making this wine a slightly more serious, yet equally as delicious GRU as its predecessor. Excellent.

ü+ Full marks to Larry Jacobs and Marc Dobson for taking a promising wine and making it better, immediately. If the Adelaide Hills savalanche is wearing you a bit thin, then brace yourself for the welcomed sight of an oncoming gru-nami. Drink to 2014.

92 points

www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au

CLIMBING PINOT GRIS 2011

- Orange, NSW

- $21.95

- Screwcap

- 12.0%alc

According to the media release accompanying Climbing's 2011 Pinot Gris, pinot gris/grigio now outsells riesling in Australia. A quick glance towards the Wine Reviews section of this website will show I'm not completely helping that cause, but it pleases me to discover more and more Australian winemakers, like Climbing's Debbie Lauritz, are treating gris with real purpose these days (varied fruit ripeness, a little lees stirring and some barrel fermentation being applied here).

Displaying the grape's pale orange/bronze colours, Climbing's 2011 Pinot Gris releases an aroma of brown nashi pears, jasmine flowers and lemon pith with a faint tone of honeysuckle. It's a little subdued, rising with more of a slow, gentle softness than a piercing intensity. Clean texture and a well controlled richness perform the palate's greatest tricks, unleashing flavours of ripe, juicy nashi pears and apples cleanly checked by a soft acidity that reveals a hint of tang at the finish. If anything, like many Australian gris, you could question its outright clarity or possible blandness (speaking pessimistically), but happily, this one has more than enough going on with its other attributes to rise from the pack, whilst within its own context, there's not a hair out of place such is its balance. It's a good gris with textural focus at its core.

ü Gris lovers (or cafe owners) should really go for Climbing's clean, rich, smartly textured and measured 2011. A bit more length and cut and I might've found myself a real revelation too. It's well made from a challenging year. Drink to 2013.

90 points

www.climbingwines.com.au

PIPERS BROOK GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2009

- Pipers River/Tamar Valley, TAS

- $22-$30

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Living off my fond memories of the sublime 2005 (95pts), I still consider Pipers Brook to be Australia's best maker of spicy, musky, purely fruited gewürztraminer. Really, it's just another wine that boldly states what a perfect fit Tasmania is for the white Alsatian varieties.

There's a clean air of purity to Pipers Brook's 2009 which is particularly striking. Within it resides mineral accented scents of candied musk sticks, fresh lychees, apples, mandarin skin and white flower. To say it's pristine might be something of an understatement. The palate dances with a restrained oily viscosity but is equally as defined by its cleanliness. It's long, penetrative and precise, with a flavour profile that marries marginally juicy lychees with a clever, faintly savoury touch of sweet pastry and a clean, crisp, refreshing finish gripped nicely by white grape tannins. As a young Tasmanian traminer (from vines approaching 40 years of age) it's practically flawless, reflecting both region and variety to a tee.

ü+ Stunningly pure and brilliant. At less than $30, Pipers Brook's Gewürztraminer must be one of the most unheralded white wines in Australia. In fact, why don't I drink it more often... Drink to 2015.

94 points

www.kreglingerwineestates.com

GIACONDA NANTUA LES DEUX 2010

- Beechworth, VIC

- $44-$57

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Nantua Les Deux is the unusual second chardonnay label of Australian chardonnay masters Giaconda. Unusual, I say, because although the back label merely states; 'CHARDONNAY', it also contains a portion of the white Rhone variety roussanne, for added complexity and richness.

Showing off an undoubtedly impressive chardonnay component in its fragrance, the 2010 Nantua Les Deux is bright, savoury and funky, flaunting nutty, lightly spiced, matchstick and mineral aromas with great emphasis above underlying fluffy white peach and melon tones. If there's any roussanne evident on the nose, it's handsomely overshadowed by an energetic partner as well as the proud scent of skilled winemaking. In the mouth it's golden and buttery, somewhat large yet long, curvaceous and sophisticated, with a finely honed-in acidity that slips and slides graciously, revealing a well judged hint of phenolics at the back end. Its flavours are pure bliss; yellow stonefruits and minerals with savoury touches of hazelnut praline and creamy vanilla oak to progress, with an emergent taste of citrus providing necessary freshness in its rather warm and cosy, sumptuous finish. Think of it as a perfumed, voluptuous beauty to happily take home tonight, but ebb with caution around long term commitment.

ü+ As an automatic, buy today to drink tonight, don't even bother putting it in the fridge during winter kind of white, this has so much complex, excessive appeal. In that respect, Giaconda's really nailed the chardonnay/roussanne blend in 2010. Drink to 2014.

92 points

www.giaconda.com.au

HOUGHTON WHITE CLASSIC 2010

- Western Australia

- $7-$15

- Screwcap

- 13.0%alc

White Classic has proven to be a suitable name for the wine formerly known as Houghton White Burgundy, because as a wine first made in 1937, classic is exactly what it is. No other present day label takes me back to my childhood more, sitting at the dinner table, watching my father drink wine, and he's a one-eyed South Australian red drinker!

Simple and sweet-edged yet clean and punchy, the 2010 White Classic presents a tropical fruit bouquet that takes on the guise of summertime fun, in the middle of winter. The palate doesn't veer too far from these descriptors either, as its minutely viscous undercarriage moves a sweetly flavoured glob of tinned tropical fruits, akin to pineapples with banana custard. Unfortunately, although there's a soft note of white peach fuzz left lingering in the mouth, the wine's overall impact isn't drawn down the palate with enough distinction, whilst its softly spoken, clean structure isn't exactly out of the ordinary for a well made, big brand $10 white.

O Sweet, simple, juicy, fruity, easy drinking; Houghton's 2010 White Classic forms a modern day stereotype of a quaffing white. Drink to 2012.

86 points

www.houghton-wines.com.au

JAUMA HUNTER'S VINEYARD GRAUBURGUNDER 2010

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $22 (500ml)

- Cork (Diam)

- 14.0%alc

There's been a lot of discussion surrounding 'natural' wines lately, from both positive and not so positive standpoints. If I must draw a personal criticism of both Jauma and Domaine Lucci's current offerings, then it's with the 500ml bottles used for their whites. Yes, the long, narrow bottles are aesthetically spectacular, but I'd hate to see the trend of downsizing catch on. It's a drinker's thing.

Before anyone gets too excited, let it be known grauburgunder is a German synonym for pinot gris. Jauma's 2010 immediately reflects this, with its pale-bronze appearance indicating skin contact, but its aroma, devoid of basic pears, apples or citrus, is something else. It's somewhat sweet yet bright smelling, revealing an unusual, essentially nail polish remover-like scent, which, optimistically, might tip towards a more agreeable honeyed sweetness. In the mouth it straddles a fine line between rich and zippy, yet is neither one nor the other, as its ill-defined palate is hurried along by a punchy sweetness, before ending with a loose formation of bitter, crunchy green apple-like acids and a note of varnish.

X I'd say there's something not quite right here - one for the chemical analysis course perhaps? It's more funky than complex. Honestly, I would've preferred a straight and simple, cleanly flavoured gris or grigio style. Drink now.

83 points

www.jauma.com

TAHBILK MARSANNE 2010

- Nagambie Lakes, VIC

- $11-$19

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

Australia boasts a range of committed producers who focus on certain 'alternative' varieties with the respect one normally reserves for gemstones, when others might simply pass them off as grapes. Think Yalumba and viognier, Pirramimma and petit verdot, d'Arenberg and grenache, and of course, Tahbilk and marsanne.

Cleanly scented and youthful, Tahbilk's 2010 reveals a pleasing, well defined fragrance for such a young marsanne, which really, one should expect from Australia's specialist maker of the variety. There are notes of stonefruit kernel/almond and gentle spice apparent, giving a vibrant, genuinely varietal edge to its more obvious scent of freshly picked lemons, with a minor trace of mineral residing throughout. By delivering its squeaky clean lemon and stonefruit kernel flavours in a surprisingly sumptuous, practically medium-full bodied sense, the palate also reflects a relatively assertive, character laden expression of a young Tahbilk Marsanne. Thankfully, the finish bares the structure and drive to balance everything out, as the whole package is wrapped up nicely by an agreeable phenolic note and chalky, drying acids, which merge eloquently alongside persisting notes of citrus and stonefruit kernel to drag out a long, brightly lit and assertive finish.

ü+ I'm really liking this Tahbilk Marsanne, which has a real, punchy presence of varietal character backed up by a classically Tahbilk structure. I guess I better make room in the cellar then, to do future Chris a favour. Drink to 2020.

91 points

www.tahbilk.com.au

YALUMBA Y-SERIES PINOT GRIGIO 2010

- South Australia

- $7-$15

- Screwcap

- 13.0%alc

To coincide with a new set of graphically superior labels, Yalumba has seemingly increased the standard throughout the Y-Series range. The 2010 Pinot Grigio could be the pick of the range right now, with a steady flow of positive reviews coming in from the likes of Wine Will Eat Itself, Good Drop and Winsor's Choice.

There's a typically restrained yet well defined fragrance of oily pear skins within Yalumba's 2010 Grigio, backed by a touch of tropical fruit resembling paw paw. Its nose is pleasingly expressive for the style and truly belies its price tag, while the palate comes forth with flavour in an ultimately clean, disciplined and rather soft manner, making it all so easy to drink. Squeaky clean flavours of white pear cider and lemon tinged grapes adorn the movement, before the wine reveals some unexpected class in a finish that emerges with a minor nutty accent fizzed up by a finely honed in, minutely phenolic yet convincingly soft and refreshing acidity.

ü+ Clean and simple; yet brilliant value, to the point where it could embarrass some makers of Australian gris/grigio. If Yalumba can mass produce $10 grigio like this, then why are there so many examples out there for 2, or even 3 times as much, that aren't as good? It's obviously another big tick towards what's going on down at Angaston. Drink now.

89 points

www.yalumba.com

PRIMO ESTATE LA BIONDINA COLOMBARD 2010

- Adelaide Plains, SA

- $10-$20

- Screwcap

- 12.0%alc

Even though summer's almost over, the recent hot spell reminded me it's about time I picked up my annual supply of Primo Estate's La Biondina. Cheap, cheerful and simply shameless summertime whites generally don't come much better.

With suggestions of green apple and melon most evident on the nose, the 2010 La Biondina seems more refined and perhaps greener than recent efforts, but there's also a scent of the label's classic passionfruit, and ultimately, it's all very clean and fresh in the truest La Biondina sense. Matching the nose is a refreshing cleanliness that highlights and delivers its juicy, mouth-filling white grape flavour, which hits the front and mid-sections nicely, just as a wine of its type should. Pure and simple, refreshingly soft acids provide a gently balancing framework for its finish, with lingering tastes of rockmelon and gooseberry sticking around for sweetly set goodbye notes. It's straight-up delicious and shameless, like licking sweat off your partner's back.

ü+ The cleanly balanced, fruity and flavoursome 2010 sits right back in the La Biondina's style groove. Top form. Drink now.

90 points

www.primoestate.com.au

YERING STATION M.V.R. MARSANNE VIOGNIER ROUSSANNE 2006

- Yarra Valley, VIC

- $20-$29

- Screwcap

- 14.0%alc

If it's a savoury, complex, dry and nutty white you're after, then it's pretty hard to go past the lures of a Rhone blend. However, much like Tahbilk's industry standard marsanne, these wines generally require a few years bottle age to reveal the full extent of their wares.

Yering Station's 5 year old MVR (67/25/8) both surprised and satisfied me on opening, by revealing an appearance and scent indicative of youthful freshness. Lemon teacake, grapefruit and mineral notes highlight the aroma, with a complementary, classy touch of crushed almonds overlaid by suggestions of white flower and ginger. Conclusively, these styles continue to ask me; 'why aren't there more white Rhone blends in Australia?' In the mouth it shows cleanliness, restraint and a sense of calm to commence, allowing its reduced lemon/mineral and brine flavours to build progressively with nutty accents and a trace of viognier phenolics down the palate, before finally finishing with pungent melon-like fruit undertones and a prickly, drying acid balance. Complex yes, complete; perhaps not.

O I'm a bit in two minds about Yering's 2006 MVR. On one hand, I'd love to have another bottle to test in 3 years time, but something else inside of me says; 'why bother?' Drink to 2012.

89 points

www.yering.com

SCOTT FIANO 2010

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $22-$26

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

There are a number of good fiano emerging from South Australia at the moment (think Coriole, Oliver's Taranga, Fox Gordon) but one that really has the local cognoscenti buzzing is Scott's 2010 Fiano, a wine whose name sounds like the product of Anglo-Italian lovemaking.

An air of grigio-like pear breezes its way through Scott's leanly scented 2010 Fiano, with additional notes of lemon zest and minerals raising their heads in what is essentially a tight nose of clarity and restraint. Its palate is also clean and clear, perhaps too clear really, as its dainty flavours of juicy white pears and minerals do show a faint watered down aspect, like grapes soaked in H2O. This leads me to categorise Scott's Fiano in the 'will benefit from further vine age' category, because its human inputs have judged a seamless balance of pleasingly soft texture and uncomplicated yet refreshingly crisp acidity, making it an ideal summer food pairing wine already. A touch of dry spice in the finish adds further interest.

O A clean and clear, easy drinking and food friendly fiano whose expression straddles the line between minerally and water-like. You be the judge. I'm still liking the potential for this variety in both McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills though. Drink to 2011.

89 points

www.scottwinemaking.com.au

ROBERT CHANNON WINES VERDELHO 2009

- Granite Belt, QLD

- $23-$28

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Well, my noble search for a Queensland wine to review on Australian Wine Journal has come to a happy conclusion, courtesy of the very kind Stu of The Wine Wankers. Stu's choice is exactly the type of wine I've been looking for. It's something of a regional specialist style, made by Queensland's most decorated maker of verdelho.

Although the varietal/regional descriptors for Granite Belt verdelho are hardly over publicised, I sense a brightness of tropical fruit within Robert Channon's 2009 which immediately casts my mind to the Sunshine State. It goes well beyond the simple citrus zest/hay aromas of Australia's better known, generic verdelho, by delivering a well defined (for the style) fragrance of lemon, nettles, paw paw, kiwi fruit and perhaps even under-ripe banana, with a passing of minerals adding refinement. Punctuated by a juicy glob of ripe, rich tropical fruit salad flavour that has me thinking 'summer', its palate is relatively straight forward in texture, if a touch viscous, but it goes on to finish long with a mouth-filling extract of verdelho's typical, softish/spiky acids and a trace of herbal character. Whether it's a good thing or not, I can't help but think of sauvignon blanc with this wine.

O Robert Channon's 2009 is a darn good verdelho with a more expressive, tropical fruit-like component than its competitors from the southern states, but I just hold a question over its value for money at $27.50rrp, regardless of where it comes from. Bottom line: I'd happily drink it, but I'd want change from a twenty. Drink to 2011.

89 points

www.robertchannonwines.com

PIZZINI PINOT GRIGIO 2010

- King Valley, VIC

- $17-$26

- Screwcap

- 12.1%alc

As the partner of a one-eyed chardonnay drinker, I've noticed the rise in prominence of pinot grigio throughout casual-dining venues (thanks to its association as a food friendly style) has only made things harder to get ahold of a glass of decent chardonnay at such places - and all this comes at a time when the number of good Australian chardonnays is increasing across all price ranges! Let's just hope more of our wineries follow in the footsteps of makers like Pizzini, and get grigio right!

Pizzini's 2010 is a predictably pale-straw grigio, but its nose is less predictable; it's delicate and withdrawn, yet laden with subtle character. A smooth whiff of creamed nuts provide something of a blanket for its tight white flower, mineral and melon aromas, which altogether come forth with the volume of a whisper. Its palate delivers a fullness of clear-cut creamy mineral and white pear flavours without being round or fat, and thankfully, it's all very clean and unmarked from beginning, to middle, to end. The finish presents something of a joyous contrast, as a slightly chalky, bright acidity grips the mouth's outer edges, while an undercarriage of lingering, juicy mineral fruit flavour contradicts the progression.

ü+ A brilliant little grigio of clarity, freshness, shape and grip, with more than enough mineral aspects to please the discerning. It's exactly the type of wine I'd be delighted to see on my local speakeasy's wine list. Drink to 2013.

92 points

www.pizzini.com.au

KNAPPSTEIN THREE GEWÜRZTRAMINER RIESLING PINOT GRIS 2010

- Clare Valley, SA

- $17-$25

- Screwcap

- 13.0%alc

The classic Alsatian blend, or 'Three' as it's been dubbed by wineries such as Knappstein and Ashton Hills, is a white wine style known well for its ability to be paired with the perennially tricky to match, spicy asian food.

There's elements of all three varieties in Knappstein's 2010 blend, as its oily pear-skin aromas make the broadest statement, but underneath that traminer/gris attribute lies notes of lime juice and lychee which are given a pleasingly floral/musky lift. The viscosity of its dominant partner (gewürztraminer, 72%) drives the wine into the palate, releasing white pear-skin , lemon zest and grape seed flavours, before a cleaner indication of lychee-like character combines with a hint of spice and a refreshing acidity to finish. A genuine touch of Clare's classic chalky acids accentuate its structural elements, which might just be an 18% riesling component punching above its weight, but the optimist inside me believes it's an indication of true regional/seasonal influence prevalent across all three varieties.

ü For a Clare-traminer-based wine, I don't think you could work this too much better. It's not terribly punchy or intense, but its beautifully measured combination of varietals has produced a wine that's clean, shapely and very easy to drink. Drink to 2014.

90 points

www.knappstein.com.au

HAHNDORF HILL WINERY 'GRU' GRÜNER VELTLINER 2010

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $28

- Screwcap

- 12.0%alc

Grüner veltliner is an Austrian variety presently taking the fine wine drinking world by storm. Some of grüner veltliner's classic attributes are; an ability to produce a diverse range of styles, from lean to bold; as well as its distinctive peppery tones. Hahndorf Hill's Marc Dobson and Larry Jacobs have acted quickly on this emerging trend, by being among first in Australia to release this increasingly popular style.

The first thing you'll notice about HHW's inaugural Gru is its clarity of colour, which foretells an equally clean fragrance of white pears and apple juice with an uplifting whiff of white flower. Fittingly, its medium-bodied palate is all about purity, mineral drive and refreshingly soft acidity; as these key components highlight, lengthen and refresh its gris-like crunchy apple and nashi pear flavours to generate a relatively uncomplicated white that's balanced to perfection. The most pleasing factor here is the consummate ease at which it flows down the palate, so don't expect to stop at just one glass (or bottle even!).

ü Hahndorf Hill's first grüner is a spotlessly clean effort made beautifully from young vine material. It's a real crowd pleaser; a summertime light lunch special. Drink to 2012.

90 points

www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au

TAHBILK VIOGNIER 2009

- Nagambie Lakes, VIC

- $11-$19

- Screwcap

- 14.0%alc

Tahbilk is rightfully recognised as a standout producer of firm, rustic, long living reds and superlative marsanne, but I also see them as one of Australia's best makers of good, cheap viognier. The 2007 release (91pts) was a reserved, surprisingly complex and bell-clear viognier of considerable finesse.

Light-mid yellow, Tahbilk's 2009 displays a slightly flinty, more savoury varietal fragrance of grilled nuts, apricot kernel, cloves and melon in a reserved style devoid of viognier's overt, apricoty showiness; however, it does reveal a warm hint of spirit. Quite broad and brassy, its oily-textured palate presents nuances of apricot syrup and clove flavour, but it finishes somewhat short and flat, lacking the extensive influence of bright acidity to enhance both length and freshness.

O Acceptable yet uninspiring, the 2009 Viognier is far from the pick of Tahbilk's current releases. Drink to 2011.

87 points

www.tahbilk.com.au

GEMTREE MOONSTONE (SAVAGNIN) 2009

- McLaren Vale, SA

- $25

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

After much debate, research and discussion, the Australian wine formerly known as albarino seems to of settled into its new title; savagnin. Although albarino might roll off the tongue more eloquently than savagnin (in a vocal sense), the bottom line remains the same; it's an exciting new variety with loads of potential in Australia. Some have likened savagnin to containing pinot gris-like character with riesling-like acidity.

Biodynamically produced and partially fermented in oak (20%), Gemtree's 2009 Savagnin presents a clean and clear, fresh fragrance of green nashi pear and melons with a minor suggestion of crushed nuts adding savoury interest. Surprisingly weighty and textured, its rather viscous palate pushes through very clean yet fat, gris-like crunchy pear flavours, with an extensive finish drawn out by tangy/lemony citric acids and a wonderfully even persistence of flavour.

O The 2009 Moonstone is a well judged savagnin, with its clean varietal fruit base enhanced by great length and winemaker induced textural elements. For much the same price I'd happily take a bottle of this over most Australian gris any day of the week (but riesling...). Drink to 2011.

89 points

www.gemtreevineyards.com.au

FOX GORDON PRINCESS FIANO 2009

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $15-$22

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Talented winemaker Tash Mooney's gained much praise for her Fox Gordon Viognier, so it's only natural that she'd try her hand at other emerging styles, such as the southern Italian variety fiano. Alongside the McLaren Vale based wineries of Coriole and Oliver's Taranga, Fox Gordon's is only the third Australian fiano I've had.

Fox Gordon's second fiano, the 2009, presents floral aromas of lavender, apricot kernel and pine nuts with a clean trace of grapefruit citrus adding zing. Its mouthfeel is the unexpected highlight here, with a smooth, creamy and sumptuous fullness that touches all of the mouth's cornices with opulent flow. Keeping the back label honest is a real depth and persistence of mid-palate character, as the wine unravels pure, olive oil-like flavours with nutty undertones, that extend with brisk acids and a lingering tone of grapefruit.

ü+ Fox Gordon's 2009 Fiano is a rather remarkable, truly individual Australian white wine within its price bracket. It's intrinsic, texture driven (beautifully labelled too) and the pick of my brief encounters with Aussie fiano. Just don't drink it too cold. Watch this space. Drink to 2011.

90 points

www.foxgordon.com.au

DOWIE DOOLE TINTOOKIE CHENIN BLANC 2008

- McLaren Vale, SA

- $30

- Cork (Diam)

- 11.5%alc

$30 might seem a bit daunting for Australian chenin blanc but Dowie Doole's Tintookie is an Australian chenin of rare pedigree. Sourced from a single Blewitt Springs vineyard that's over 70 years old, the 2008 underwent oak fermentation, lees stirring and 3 months maturation in secondhand French oak, adding highly desired texture and complexity to a wine style that's all too often simple and one-dimensional in this country.

The 2008 Tintookie is brightly scented and nutty on the nose, with a clean, youthful fragrance of grapefruit, white flowers and hazelnuts sitting harmoniously alongside a note of creamy vanilla/butter oak. Lusciously creamy and opulent on entry, its deeply flavoured, mineral infused chenin palate presents a lively core of grapefruit, honeydew melon and citrus fruits overlying a complex undercarriage of leesy, sour cream-like flavour. A proudly assertive influence of vivid, gripping grapefuit-like acids coats the wine, carrying it with magnificent thrust towards a vibrantly long, penetrative finish of exceptional length, focus and brightness.

ü+ I'm certainly not the first to say this but Dowie Doole's 2008 Tintookie is the best Australian chenin blanc I've had. It makes me wonder why there aren't more around like it. Great vitality, length and structure. Drink to 2015.

94 points

www.dowiedoole.com