Top 100 Wines: Whites (part 1)
There are thousands of wines to choose from but where do you start? Right here is where - with national wine writer Tony Love’s Top 100 Wines for 2015.
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So many reasons to pour a good white right now: our seafood is brilliant in winter and nothing goes better with a freshly caught whiting that a zesty riesling or cool semillon. Of course, on a wintry evening, a roast chicken dinner rules, and you’ll find here just the right chardonnay to wash it down. The there are the new 2015 vintage whites just coming up for air - we introduce you to them first.
T’Gallant Juliet 2014 Pinot Grigio
Victoria/ Mornington Peninsula
Food: Pork stir-fry
$17
***1/2
From one of the country’s first pinot gris/grigo producers, this is a pretty little white made for a welcoming palate with lovely ripe tropical aromatic notes floating over and above the usual varietal characters of apples and pears. The overall sense is of subtly sweet highlights over a more savoury herbal undercarriage, making for an everyday, popular drinking style.
Peter Lehmann Portrait 2014 Dry Riesling
Eden Valley
Food: Tempura fish
$19
****
The labelling of “Dry” is an indicator of where this particular riesling sits in a range of possible flavour profiles, and this selection of Eden Valley fruit hits the mark with vivid lemon juice and pith. The mouthfeel now also has become an important character in enjoying good riesling, this critical in supporting the citrus characters to be pure, razor-edged and mouth-watering. A terrific price for such zing.
Nepenthe Altitude 2014 Sauvignon Blanc
Adelaide Hills
Food: Scallops with sweet corn puree
$20
****
From one of the Adelaide Hills pioneers of this variety two decades and more ago — and with the help of aggressive competition from the Kiwis, sauvignon blanc went on to become the most loved white wine style of a generation. This version remains exciting with tropical fruits and limes, wild and zesty on the palate with lovely minerals and pithy textures to finish. Delicious and refreshing.
Skillogalee 2014 Riesling
Food: Crab omelet
Clare valley
$20
****
Dave Palmer has carved a great reputation for both his refined rieslings west of Sevenhill — and his full-flavoured reds too, for that matter. This is one pure and precise Clare rizza with all its pristine citrus and apple fruit elements inviting you into a refreshing, salivating, seafood friendly wine that tingles the palate but doesn’t attack it with overt acidity. It finishes dry, talc-dusty and simply deliciously.
Seppeltsfield 2014 Vermentino
Barossa
Food: Char grilled octopus
$22
****
An Italian / Mediterranean coast and island white that’s gaining popularity grown here, and like at home it screams compatibility with seafood dishes of all kinds, this Barossa version amping up the intensity of its floral lift to begin then bright and perky citrus zing with white tea. Along with these flavours, the palate just skips along with delightful pith and minerality — it’s a joy to drink and see some flavour and style being achieved with the variety.
De Bortoli 2015 La Boheme Act Three
Yarra Valley, Vic
Food: Fetta and spinach filo triangles
$23
****
Fresh out of the blocks from this year’s pick, this is subtitled “pinot gris and friends”, which a little bit more digging reveals as small dashes of gewurztraminer, pinot blanc and riesling up to a total of 10%, the mix offering delightful fresh cut and dried pear aromas, and tangelo in a perfect reflection of current seasonal fruit availability, and a note of musk spice with a creamy textural feel. Delicious.
Petaluma 2014 Sauvignon Blanc
Adelaide Hills
Food: Seafood paella
$24
****1/2
The region best known for the variety in Australia — and luckily it’s on our doorstep. Interestingly, there can be a few varying styles ranging from incredibly pungent tropical passionfruit aromas to more chiselled citrus, while this has gone for a greater sophistication aided by a portion matured briefly in older oak barrels which has added a spiced apple richness and creaminess to the wine with a fulfilling palate and finish.
Brokenwood 2014 Semillon
Hunter Valley, NSW
Food: Buttered scallop risotto
$25
****1/2
Hunter Valley Semillon is one of Australia’s most surprising white wines — able to be sipped as a youngster like this or in five, 10 and sometimes 20 years when it reveals a toast, butter and honey character in its maturity. There’s a beautiful floral note and fresh-air breeze here with an enticing natural zip in the palate, harvested so its acidity will hold up the wine for years to come. Delicious now; buy a few to cellar.
Burge Family Winemakers 2014 Olive Hill Semillon
Barossa Valley
Food: Chicken tagine
$26
****
The Barossa has a grand tradition not just with shiraz but also semillon from old vines and crafted sometimes a little broader than most Hunters but also in this glossy, lemon skin coloured style that’s always a delight on release and as it ages. Its low 12% alc/vol. suggests it will develop the variety’s rich buttered character, but take it in now with peach and apricot fruit notes balanced precisely with crisp lemon juice lines that track tensely through a tasting.
Shaw + Smith 2015 Sauvignon Blanc
Adelaide Hills
Food: Spicy calamari in tossed salad
$26
****
Only just hitting the shelves, this new vintage release has plenty of gusto to it, and as the style leader in Australia is not about to be knocked of its perch. It’s all about the aromatics, which of course is much of sauvignon’s appeal, here with trademark varietal passionfruit putting you right in the zone, then added pine lime flavours with a palate feel that’s quite smooth with fine talc dusting rather than overt citrusy pith. A classic expression of the variety.
Top 100 Wines
There are thousands of wines to choose from but where do you start? Right here is where - with national wine writer Tony Love’s Top 100 Wines for 2015.