Another delicious Harewood Riesling + 10 more v. drinkable whites + fizz

If given the choice, I’d likely drink white wines over red.

That’s essentially a refreshment thing because I’m treating what’s in my glass as a drink. But also a reminder that wine is a drink, and not only an intellectual/sensual exercise.

Perhaps more importantly, I’d probably have a beer first. Then a glass of fizz (probably something rich and complex), then an aromatic white, a textural white, a light red, a full-bodied red, some luscious dessert wine, then a fortified, then a vodka soda and then a laydown. In an ideal world, dinner would be a multi-stage beverage affair featuring all the colours of the drinks rainbow.

What about you?

While you think about your response, here are a few whites and fizz that I’d probably enjoy another glass of sometime soon, led by this excellent Riesling:

Harewood Mount Barker Riesling 2023

The Harewood Riesling range is such a joy. Brilliant concentration is what marks them all. This Mount Barker-sourced wine shows the twist of pepper and dill that punctuates the whole 2023 Harewood Riesling sub-regional Riesling range, too (is it multiple picks? An aromatic yeast thing?), with a really powerful palate underneath. Indeed, it’s lightly herbaceous and stern, yet it has passionfruit flecks and stein fruit. Fabulous! Celery, grapefruit, white pepper. A smorgasbord. It’s juicy, and it’s intense – maybe a little too peppery, but such interest and deliciousness.

Best drinking: I prefer these young. 18.5/20, 94/100. 12%, $35. Would I buy it? Absolutely.

Attwoods Vin de Folie Blanc 2023

This is Troy Walsh’s summer thirst-quenching white wine, but with all sorts of textural nuances and a bit of skin contact, it’s more than just a simple thing, too. Golden, yellow, and orange colours it smells of honeysuckle, with waxy oxidative notes, yellow stone fruit (which has me guessing that this is Chardonnay-based), and a little tangerine. There’s a lo-fi stamp with the waxy wild edges but this delicious apple quince juiciness. It’s quite moreish, too.

Best drinking: now. 17.7/20, 92/100. 13%, $45. Would I buy it? Well worth a glass or two.

Daosa Natural Reserve NV (6th release)

I really like that this NV has a disgorgement date and actual details. More, please, Australian sparkling winemakers. 60% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, 1% Pinot Meunier, all from the Adelaide Hills, and disgorged August 2023 (based on the 2021 vintage). It’s ripe, with some funk, golden frothy, mealy, and slightly oak richness, all of which add up to fizz with power. More a powerful Adelaide Hills white wine with bubbles and hardly the aperitif delicacy, but this has so much charisma and texture that I really like.

Best drinking: now. 17.7/20, 92/100. 13.3%, $55. Would I buy it? Worth several glasses.

Handpicked Collection Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2020

My only gripe with the Handpicked Chardonnay wines is that they’re just a little lean. But this is so smartly made that I can’t deny the charm. White nectarine, even a bit of apricot, it’s quite expressive and stone fruity with this opulence suggestion on the nose. The palate is just a bit subdued after all that nougat apple pie extravagance, but the balance between clean lines and stonefruit flavour is plenty enough to have you coming back for several glasses.

Best drinking: now. 17.5/20, 91/100. 12.2%, $49.99. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.

Harewood Estate Great Southern Riesling 2023

This is the entry-level Riesling in the Harewood range, and while it’s not on the same par as the sub-regional wines (like the one above), it’s such an affable and generous wine with passionfruit juicy flavour and a limey citrus tang. It’s a straightforward Riesling, but for $20 this is a good pick to win over Sauvignon Blanc drinkers, ushering them into the crisp, citrusy embrace of a Great Southern Riesling.

Best drinking: now. 17/20, 90/100. 12%, $20. Would I buy it? Worth a glass or two.

Kelly Bros Sour Granny Cider

I know, I know, this isn’t white or bubbles. And I drink so little cider that it doesn’t normally make a mention. Still, this tangy and crisp cider from the Kellybook winery team is well worth a look if I were. Made from a tiny Granny Smith orchard, this is such a refreshing drink. Sour but sweet, with a great interplay of acidity and sugar. I liked it.

4 stars. 3.5%

Logan Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Orange can deliver more than handy Sauvignon Blanc, and Pete Logan is a more than handy maker. Yellow straw coloured, this is in the nettley, dill and green herbs side of the Savvy fence, but also a lemony tang. The lemony dill palate reminds me of the bony 2022 Marlborough whites, but this isn’t unripe, just intense and rather well-built in a proper varietal Sauv way. It’s just a bit green-edged, but quality and rather drinkable because it is more intense.

Best drinking: now. 17.5/20, 91/100. 13%, $25. Would I buy it? Worth a few glasses.

Parish Vineyard Riesling 2023

Lovely generous style of Tassie Riesling from a 3ha block in the Coal River Valley. It’s ripe and fullish in an Alsace style, showing orange, mandarin and a little peach. A little sweetness softens the edges, and the stonefruit flourish is very pleasant. It’s maybe a little too juicy on the finish, which robs the definition a little, but such an applaudably well-balanced Tassie Riesling.

Best drinking: now. 18/20, 93/100. 12%, $35. Would I buy it? Worth a bottle.

Sapling Yard Entrechat 2021

A rare Canberran beast is the Entrechat, with only 90 dozen produced. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Meunier that spends 18 months on lees. It’s breezy, dry, aperitif sparkling rosé(ish) of easy charm. Salmon is the word here, from the coppery orange colours to the style, which projects a salmon blini affection. Pinot Noir plays a big part in the character, with the understated strawberry citrus fruit laid out with delicacy and delineation. It could do with more power, but hey, it’s pretty and quite perfumed (which makes it worth it).

Best drinking: nowish, but no hurry. 17.7/20, 93/100. 12.5%, $42. Would I buy it? A few glasses.

The Little Wine Company Vermentino 2023

Possibly the best white from Little Wine Co. A little florals, but a core of buzzy stonefruit and a little musk, to the point of honeysuckle. Quite juicy, but with phenolic pith. Great varietal juiciness, and the phenolic pith makes this more interesting. Excellent flavour drive.

Best drinking: now. 17.7/20, 92/100. 11.8%, $30. Would I buy it? A few glasses.

The Other Wine Co. Pinot Gris 2023

Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris and so well done. Waxy Nashi pear varietal stamp, a few white flowers but mainly a driven by the mid-palate with lots of pears and a crisp, slightly buzzy, correctly varietal finish (if just a little short). Excellent for $27, and another reason to get into The Other Wine Co. range.

Best drinking: now. 17.7/20, 92/100. 13%, $27. Would I buy it? Several glasses.