20 whites over $20

Top 100 wines: Clare Valley loses its grip on the nation’s best rieslings while the Hunter Valley dominates semillon.

 

For the Top 100 list I use a 100-point scoring system: here’s how it works:

97-99: Exceptional. Wines that have won major trophies in important wine shows, or are of that standard.

95-96: Outstanding. Wines of gold medal standard, usually with a great pedigree.

94: Wines on the cusp of gold medal status, virtually indistinguishable from those receiving 95 points.

90-93: Highly recommended. Wines of great quality, style and character, and worthy of a place in any cellar.

89: Recommended. Wines on the cusp of silver medal standard, the difference purely a judgment call.

86-88: Wines of bronze medal standard: well produced, flavoursome, usually not requiring cellaring.

SAUVIGNON BLANC & BLENDS

Domaine Naturaliste Discovery Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016

Has the Bruce Dukes stamp on it: a wine with finesse, yet also haunting complexity. I’ll happily buy into Dukes’ key words of gooseberry and guava, but there’s also a tracer bullet of zesty/pithy citrus on the long finish.

95 points, $24

screwcap, 13% alc,

drink to 2017

domainenaturaliste.com.au

Snake + Herring Perfect Day Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016

There’s more to this than meets the eye, the bouquet and palate suggesting augmentation by all or some of oak, skin contact and lees contact. What is certain is the extra length and depth of the mouthfeel.

95 points, $24

screwcap, 13%

alc drink to 2018

snakeandherring.com.au

Stella Bella Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc 2016

In distinctive Stella Bella fashion, this is loaded with tropical fruits, starting with passionfruit and gooseberry, continuing with green pineapple, and finishing with punchy citrussy acidity that intensifies and prolongs the impact.

96 points, $24

screwcap, 13.2% alc

drink to 2018

stellabella.com.au

Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2016

Long accepted as the benchmark for Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc, and you don’t have to go past the bouquet to figure out why: just about every tropical fruit you can imagine is there – custard apple at one extreme, kiwi fruit and green pineapple at the other.

95 points, $26

screwcap, 12%

alc drink to 2017

shawandsmith.com

CHARDONNAY

Giant Steps Lusatia Park Vineyard Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2015

From a great Upper Yarra vineyard now owned by De Bortoli. Lifted fruit blossom aromas with a wraith of barrel ferment; the palate is exquisitely balanced, with the classic white peach/ grapefruit duo filling the mouth, flowing on to a lingering finish.

97 points, $45

screwcap, 13%

alc drink to 2029

giantstepswine.com.au

Xanadu Stevens Road Margaret River Chardonnay 2014

From 20 rows of Gingin clone on the Stevens Road Vineyard. This is a twin to the Xanadu Reserve, sharing far more things in common than points of difference, though this is slightly finer, more open and readier than the Reserve.

97 points, $70

screwcap, 13.5%

alc drink to 2024

xanaduwines.com

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Margaret River Chardonnay 2015

One of the icons of Margaret River, a chardonnay that has had spectacular success in shows over the past 5+ years. The mouthfeel and balance are flawless, supple yet focused, all the ingredients – fruit, oak, acidity – in perfect harmony.

97 points, $75

screwcap, 13% alc

drink to 2028

vassefelix.com.au

Hardys Eileen Hardy Tasmania & Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2014

A wine with an impeccable pedigree, and synergy between Tasmania and Hardys’ Upper Yarra Bastard Hill vineyard. It’s not easy to identify the contributions of each region, but I’d guess the Yarra Valley adds fruit flesh to the minerally structure ex Tasmania.

97 points, $90

screwcap, 13.5% alc

drink to 2024

hardyswine.com.au

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Margaret River Chardonnay 2013

Fermented and matured for 11 months in new French oak. It has absorbed the new oak in a manner worthy of a Grand Cru White Burgundy, leaving the fragrant bouquet and finely structured palate of startling length to occupy centre stage.

98 points, $104

screwcap, 13.5% alc

drink to 2033

leeuwinestate.com.au

RIESLING

Duke’s Vineyard Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling 2016

The sheer power of this wine from WA’s Great Southern region is startling, especially in the context of the normally reserved Porongurup style. Citrus and a touch of apple help build the layers of fruit which rest on the mainframe of crunchy/minerally acidity. Perfect balance and length.

98 points, $30

screwcap, 12.5% alc

drink to 2036

dukesvineyard.com

Willoughby Park Ironrock Riesling 2015

Hand-picked from the best patch of the Kalgan River vineyard in Albany, WA, the grapes are whole bunch-pressed and wild-fermented. There is more of everything: texture, structure, minerally acidity, lime zest and leaf as well as juice. A complex wine that seldom fails to excite.

97 points, $35

screwcap, 12.5% alc

drink to 2030

willoughbypark.com.au

Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Henty Riesling 2016

This wine from southwest Victoria has it all, bringing finesse and luxuriant varietal character onto the table at the first moment of the bouquet and of the palate. It is loaded with power in the fashion of a fine, dry Rheingau riesling, irresistible now, and even more so with extended cellaring.

97 points, $40

screwcap, 11% alc

drink to 2036

seppelt.com.au

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Vineyard Riesling 2015

With its citrus and wildflower blossom aromas and its perfectly balanced, ballerina-light imprint on the mouth, the single-word essence of this world class Great Southern riesling is “detailed”. It has a style all of its own.

97 points, $40

screwcap, 12.5% alc

drink to 2030

franklandestate.com.au

Grosset Polish Hill Clare Valley Riesling 2016

Free-run juice fermented with a neutral cultured yeast, placing all the focus on the expression of variety and place. The bouquet is gloriously floral with sweet lemon blossom aromas, the palate with diamond-cut purity and clarity. Natural acidity is part of its DNA.

97 points, $54

screwcap, 12.7% alc

drink to 2031

grosset.com.au

SEMILLION & BLENDS

Gundog Estate The Chase Hunter Valley Semillon 2016

The absolute purity of varietal expression exhibited here is the opposite of Gundog’s Wild Semillon. Its bouquet surges out of the glass with lemongrass/hay aromas, the palate then imprinting its suite of flavours for a seeming eternity. Gold medal Hunter Valley Wine Show ’16.

96 points, $30

screwcap, 10.5%

alc drink to 2031

gundogestate.com.au

Thomas Braemore Individual Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2016

Andrew Thomas is one of the best practitioners of the fine art of coaxing young semillon to grab attention without compromising a 15+ year lifespan. Lime, lemon zest, grass and lemongrass all join hands, balance and length evidence of its extreme quality.

96 points, $30

screwcap, 13.8%

alc drink to 2031

thomaswines.com.au

Brokenwood Maxwell Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2009

Pale straw-green; the bouquet is reticent, the palate anything but. The wine has reached its first stage of development, the fruit flavours of citrus and a hint of white peach, the acidity necessarily part of the picture. It is ready to drink now, even though it has time on its side.

96 points, $55

screwcap, 11%

alc drink to 2024

brokenwood.com.au

Mount Pleasant Lovedale Hunter Valley Semillon 2011

Gleaming, almost iridescent strawgreen. This wine has already scooped eight gold medals in shows, and it still has room to develop even greater richness, a faint touch of CO2 spritz intensifying the lemon/lemongrass fruit flavours, the acidity spot on.

97 points, $70

screwcap, 10% alc

drink to 2031

mountpleasantwines.com.au

Hay Shed Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2016

Pretty close to a perfect example of Margaret River SBS. All of the work has been done in the vineyard, the winery a hands-off zone as varietal fruit, not oak, has shaped the wine. Some grassy/pea pod aromas quickly yield to the even flow of passionfruit, pineapple and guava on the supple palate.

95 points, $22

screwcap, 12.5% alc

drink to 2018

hayshedhill.com.au

OTHER WHITES

Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne 2010

Gleaming straw-green; superb balance and length; the trademark honeysuckle and a touch of honey are smartly followed by precisely balanced acidity. This is one of the best vintages of this unique wine, made from the only block of 90-year-old marsanne vines in the country.

96 points, $45

screwcap, 11.5% alc

drink to 2030

tahbilk.com.au

363 wines submitted

You have to wonder whether the Chinese obsession with red wines is the reason production of high quality reds has soared while that of whites hasn’t. It has nothing to do with the quality of the wines, or their value for money; riesling, semillon and marsanne simply deserve far wider interest. Throwing off the shackles of cork opens up 20-30-year lifespans for the better examples. Chardonnay, too, now has a longer future, even if it doesn’t transform itself in quite the same way as the fragrant unwooded wines.

The best of the rest:

Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Riesling 2016 95, $25

Forest Hill Vineyard Block 1 Mount Barker Riesling 2014 97, $40

McLeish Estate Hunter Valley Semillon 2009 96, $23

Thomas Cellar Reserve Braemore Individual Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2010 96, $50

Fire Gully Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2015 95, $24

Hay Shed Hill Block 1 Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2015 96, $28

Yabby Lake Red Claw Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2015 94, $27

Giant Steps Tarraford Vineyard Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2014 97, $45

Shaw + Smith M3 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015 97, $46

St Huberts Yarra Valley Roussanne 2015 96, $33