(2023) I guess the question has to be: does the world need yet another pear and apple scented and flavoured, but otherwise rather generic Pinot Grigio? This has a bit more weight and texture than the cheapest Italian variants, but though the fruit and overall balance are good, it's just not a wine to get excited about.
(2022) Sourced from several South Australian wine-growing regions, this is made with wild fermentation and lees ageing. Very attractive Viognier aromatics, lightly floral and herbal, which gives an attractive edge to the more ripe and tropical fruit. The wild yeast ferment no doubt adding to the quite complex aromatics for a £7.50 wine. In the mouth it is quite oily-textured and weighty, and there is a sour lemony acid that drives the mid-palate and finish. That gives a savoury character, quite orangy, the sweet peach fruit just balanced on the mid-palate.
(2022) Coming from Riverland vineyards in South Australia, and Certified Organic vineyards, winemaking is similar to the Y Series. This has a very fragrant and delicate aromatic, peachy and ripe pear aromas, to me a little more purity than the Y Series. Really lovely sweetnes and ripeness on the palate, again a rich but not quite such an oily texture, but again that light phenolic grip of the skin contact and citrus acidity drives on. Very good value at under £10.
(2022) There's a tinge of bronze to the colour of this South Australian Pinot Grigio. On the nose, Williams pears and subtle floral and herb nuances, very easy-going and straightforward. In the mouth it is dry, and braced buy some citrus acidity against the succulent pear and peach fruit of the mid-palate. An easy drinker, but natural fermentation has added some interest and it has a bit of style.
(2020) Fermented in stainless steel with "a short maturation in French oak," fruit is sourced from both the Limestone Coast and Grant Burge's Barossa homeland. Fruit is to the fore, melon and apple, just a small suggestion of oak, the wine quite crisp in the finish with pear-drop hints always in the background. I have to say it's a wine that feels just too 'manufactured' - constructed in Australia to be commercially appealing, bottled here in the UK, and I'll expect to see it 'on promotion' at £7 or £8 fairly regularly.
(2020) Always a value for money favourite, the recipe for this entry-level Viognier in the Yalumba portfolio still involves 100% wild yeast fermentation, three months of lees ageing, but not oak. Very aromatic and pure, it has a lovely soft downy peach and floral character, fresh but soft and summery. In the mouth there's just a hint of that nice phenolic grip, a tang of citrussy, orangy acidity and a fresh but easy-drinking finish. A lot of wine for the money really.
(2020) Yalumba released their first organic Viognier in 2006, and 14 years on this lovely wine comes from organic vineyards to the north of Adelaide, and is made with minimal intervention. There's certainly a more gastronomic, savoury and saline character here compared to the Y Series. Juicy and well-fruited, with a lovely sense of purity and the merest touch of RS just broadening the feel of the dry finish.
(2018) From the Fleurieu Peninsula of McLaren Vale, very close to the ocean and city of Adelaide, this is a very good example of the new Australian Chardonnay: no sign here of that heavy vanilla oak or blockbuster ripeness: with 12.5% alcohol this is rich, rounded and crammed with sweet fruit that takes centre stage. There is a touch of that flinty character that makes Chablis so appealing, but then the juicy, sweet orange and peach fruit.
(2017) There's a whisp of ginger and cinnamon on the nose, then spangle-bright tropical fruit, just an edge of something green and capsicum-like. In the mouth the fruit is sweet, and for me just doesn't quite integrate as it should with the rush of a slightly green acidity. It's very drinkable, but just missing its mark for me.
(2017) Another classic, a bone-dry Riesling from the Clare Valley, there's a nice hint of the floral and beeswax side of Riesling to the otherwise fresh and limey fruit, even a hint of exotic lychee. Rippling with salt and chalk acidity, there is nevertheless plenty of lime, sliced apple and juicy Mandarin orange fruit to balance, in a long, shimmering wine.
