Top 100 Wines: Whites - Luscious

Top 100 Wines: Whites - Luscious

Chardonnay leads this spectrum of wines, but take the opportunity to explore some other varieties like marsanne, viognier, and semillon

D’Arenberg 2013 The Hermit Crab

News_Image_File: D'Arenberg 2013 The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne

Amongst a broad array of varietals and blends from this popular Vales winery, this duet of viognier and marsanne is full powered with riper stone fruit and semi-tropical aromatics, yet cast in a quite spritely style so its tang balances the exotic lifts keeping the taste senses constantly intrigued.

★★★★

McLaren Vale

Food: Thai green chilli chicken

$18

Jacob’s Creek Reserve 2013 Chardonnay

News_Image_File: Top 100 Wines – Jacob's Creek 2013 Reserve Chardonnay

Genuinely classy chardonnay with a lot of Piccadilly Valley in the mix, subtle oak influences adding delicate touches of flint and char but never standing in the way of the white stone fruit elements typical of the region. Deft balance of oak and core fruit values. Extraordinary value; well discounted.

★★★★1/2

Adelaide Hills

Food: Best ever buttery roast chicken

$18

Lobethal Road 2013 Pinot Gris

News_Image_File: Lobethal Road 2013 Pinot Gris

From a tiny Hills producer who scored big with its shiraz in Sydney’s Royal judging this year, this glorious white starts with a fragrant and generously spiced nose, cinnamon, nutmeg spices on poached pear yet fresh and zesty underneath, lemon juices, bitey apple, and lots of finishing energy.

★★★★1/2

Adelaide Hills

Food: Dukkah coated pork fillet

$22

Bowen Estate 2013 Chardonnay

News_Image_File: Bowen Estate 2013 Chardonnay

One of Coonawarra’s regular chardonnay stars, this is all about its expression of fruit: white peach leading the way with a beautiful little lift of kitchen aromatic, mint, lavender and rosemary, followed by delicate background oak notes. All up sweet fruited, sticky, lightly grippy and more-ish.

★★★★

Coonawarra

Food: Vietnamese quail

$23

Oliver’s Taranga 2014 Fiano

News_Image_File: Oliver's Taranga 2014 Fiano

From one of the leaders in this southern Italian origin variety gaining plenty of notice now in several regions. It’s not about overt fruitiness, but more set with subtle flavours of lemon biscuit, almond milk and rice cream, its decent medium-powered palate geared with plenty of energy and drive.

★★★★

McLaren Vale

Food: Scallop, pork belly

$24

Burge Family Winemakers 2013 Olive Hill Semillon

News_Image_File: 06/02/14 - Burge Family Wine Makers 2013 Olive Hill Premium Barossa Semillon. Picture TOM HUNTLEY

From the careful hands of winemaker Rick Burge who teases regular magic with the Barossa’s traditional white variety into a shapely, expressive style, green-tinged in the glass, rich flavours to follow, texturally mouth-filling with a subtle zing in the finish. A proven stayer, it will age evocatively.

★★★★1/2

Barossa Valley

Food: White fish, olives, roast tomato

$27

Wolf Blass Gold Label 2013 Chardonnay

News_Image_File: Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay

With the whole winemaking book thrown at it, in the past resulting sometimes in too much of a good thing, yet for this vintage the wood and barrel impact have been toned down for a beautifully complex fresh fruit style led by peach and grapefruits with ginger-spiced oak notes on the side. Delish.

★★★★1/2

Adelaide Hills

Food: Christmas in July turkey

$27

John Duval Wines 2013 Plexus

News_Image_File: John Duval 2010 Plexus White bottle of wine.

Marsanne, roussanne and viognier often form three-way blends, here with delicate white stone fruits and a note of apricot, the fragrance attractive, then an almost secret power and intensity as it settles, vital, complex and fulfilling.

★★★★1/2

Barossa Valley

Food: Morrocan chicken tagine

$30

Bremerton 2012 Batonnage Chardonnay

News_Image_File: White Wine - Bremerton 2012 Btonnage Chardonnay

An unlikely region for most for chardonnay, but this reserve style says a lot about the focused winemaking from the Willson crew, using French barrels with delicate touch that add a gorgeous balance and gingery edge to the white nectarine, lemon delicious flavour lines. Supple and lingering.

★★★★

Langhorne Creek

Food: Richer shellfish dishes

$32

The Lane Beginning 2012 Chardonnay

News_Image_File: The Lane Beginning 2012 Chardonnay

The style of this chardonnay sets out to express the cool lines of citrus and minerals, and while it may first appear delicate in bouquet, there is a beguiling power and intensity as the oak elements, keenly integrated, offer bread and brioche notes over the grapefruit flavours and precise textural finish.

★★★★1/2

Adelaide Hills

Food: Gnocchi all romana

$39

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