Wonder Whites For An Exhilarating Xmas

Singular, exhilarating and tingling with mineral intrigue – it’s going to be a white Christmas, all right.
Here’s a selection of diverse and detailed delights; you’ll find notes and reviews beneath the table:

RIESLING

2016 Frankland Estate Museum-Release Isolation Ridge Riesling Frankland River RRP $52
All the hallmarks of this site are at play with camomile and blossom, the lightness of touch on the palate with its citrus notes, some concentration and texture yet the steely freshness and acidity so pure it creates an ultra-fine and long finish. 96 points. Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion 2018

2018 Loosen Barry Wolta Wolta Riesling Clare Valley RRP $120
Very light, bright colour, with a reductive aroma at first with lemon-citrus peeping through underneath, detailed and aromatic, the palate intense and rich, as well as very lively and amost racy at the same time, with a faint patina of nuttiness over the top. The palate is dry and concentrated, and it has gorgeous texture, tremendous length and a winning combination of delicacy and richness. Most impressive. Dare we say, almost Germanic! 97 points. Huon Hooke, The Real Review 

2017 Paul Blanck Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru Alsace RRP $80
Paul Blanck Schlossberg Grand Cru Riesling is grown on an exceptional vineyard. At 200-300m, the Schlossberg slope lies on the Kaysersberg migmatites and the intruding granite of Thannenkirch, whose arenaceous character provides very fertile, mineral soil, composed both of coarse sand and clay. “Mildly exotic aromas of frangipane, nectarine, orange peel and flowers,” are what the Decanter Magazine panel tasters found on the nose of this 2017. “Some savoury character and delicate texture on the palate.” It’s a wine that the family releases after a few years in bottle, and even then it’s just starting to show the power and complexity of the Schlossberg site.

2019 Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Spätlese Trocken Pfalz RRP $82
The Saumagen vineyard is one of the most celebrated sites of the Pfalz region. It has calcareous soils on a south-facing slope and delivers wines with especially high minerality and ageing potential. This Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling Spätlese Trocken is a selection of healthy grapes showing a golden colour. It spends one night on skins before natural ferment and maturation. In June the following year, those barrels showing the greatest elegance are selected for this blend. It shows typical notes of hay, honey, lemon balm, ripe stone fruits and white pepper, in a wine that is at once pure and sleek, deep and subtly intense.

2017 Gunderloch Pettenthal Riesling Grosses Gewächs Rheinhessen RRP $108
Still closed, though there’s plenty of smoke and fresh parsley on the nose. This sleek beauty has wonderful elegance on the palate and a long, racy finish with a ton of herbs and wild berries. Try in 2019. Screw cap. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com 

2017 Bründlmayer Ried Heiligenstein Riesling Lyra Kamptal RRP $132
The 2017 Riesling Ried Heiligenstein 1ÖTW Lyra is super fine and floral on the highly elegant, balanced nose. Pure but intense and very fine on the palate, this is a highly elegant, complex and very persistent Heiligenstein with remarkable tension, length and salinity. A gorgeous wine and probably one of the finest Austrian Rieslings of the 2017 vintage. 96 points. Stephan Reinhardt, Wine Advocate

2018 F.X. Pichler Ried Kellerberg Riesling Smaragd Wachau RRP $190
A striking wine that has such intensity, length and complexity, yet somehow manages to deliver a very elegant, pure and focused style. Aromas of ripe stone fruit, white flowers, spice and freshly picked herbs lead to a palate that has a vivid stream of minerals, swathed in ripe peaches and mangoes and coursing through the finish. Impressive in every respect. Drink or hold. 97 points. Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com

GRÜNER VELTLINER

2020 Emmerich Knoll Ried Kellerberg Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Wachau RRP $89
A juicy, elegant Wachau Grüner with the sophistication you expect from the region. Plenty of yellow fruit (from mirabelle to nectarine), the wine feeling lighter than it really is, thanks to its sleek and crystalline personality. Long, polished finish. Drink or hold. 92 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com

2019 Bründlmayer Ried Lamm Grüner Veltliner Kamptal RRP $150
Intensely herbal, but also subtle with very interesting smoky and sweet vegetal (think snow pea and chickpea) notes. This is a powerful but graceful wine that has great, citrusy and mineral freshness running through it. Stunning finish that leaves no doubt. Great aging potential. Drink or hold. 96 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com

2019 Groiss Ried Sauberg Grüner Veltliner Tradition Weinviertel RRP $75
The nose diffuses a sense of something smooth, cool and creamy. The palate has that same notion and adds flavours of pleasantly bitter Russet pear peel and Mirabelle. This remains smooth, textured and cool but with that pepperiness fizzing away at the core. 94 points. Anne Krebiehl MW, Wine Enthusiast 

2019 Moric Serious Wine from a Gorgeous Place Grüner Veltliner Burgenland RRP $150
Very flinty, deep and subtle with stunning concentration on the palate. Complex candied-lemon, dried-herb and chamomile aromas. What a long, complex and silky finish. Only just beginning to open up. Drink or hold. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com

CHARDONNAY

2019 Scorpo Eocene Chardonnay Mornington Peninsula RRP $70
As you’d expect for the flagship white, this is hand-picked fruit, whole-bunch pressed to French barrels, 25% new, and aged 12 months. No mlf and no lees stirring. Tight as a drum, shot with racy acidity. And no shortage of very flinty sulphides, which would be too much funky reduction, if not for the weight and richness of fruit to balance. Complex, assured, rich, textural, savoury and compelling. 96 points. Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion 2022

2019 Stefano Lubiana Chardonnay Tasmania RRP $70
Bringing white peach, pear, and a smear of wild honey (plus that rarest of its type, calm acidity) into a coherent whole speaks of the winemaker’s skill and quality of the fruit with equal clarity. This is a gem; no wonder much of its wine consumed on the island. 13% alc, screwcap. 97 points. James Halliday, Weekend Australian

2018 Louis Michel 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre Chablis RRP $108
‍From one of the finest Premier Crus, which shares a similar aspect to the region’s Grand Crus, this is an exceptional wine that holds plenty of promise for enjoyment over the long term. At the moment it is still tightly wound – a powerful core of citrus, floral and mineral fruits before a firm, acid-driven palate with brilliant balance and a long, mineral-flavoured finish. Exceptional, but it really needs at least five years to show its best. 95 points. Angus Hughson, Gourmet Traveller WINE

2017 Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Blagny Burgundy RRP $207
The 2017 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru unfurls in the glass with a vivid bouquet of crisp green apple, pear, Meyer lemon and oyster shell. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, fleshy but cool and controlled, with bright acids and a mineral finish. The high-altitude site tempers the sun kissed charm of the vintage. 90 points. William Kelley, Wine Advocate

2015 Matrot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières Burgundy RRP $264
Bright yellow. Musky reduction to the fruit-driven aromas of pineapple, lemon and orange zest. Suave and fine-grained on the palate, with emerging minerality and lemony citricity giving the wine dynamism and structure despite its modest acidity. More classic and gripping than the Puligny-Montrachet La Quintessence, finishing with a touch of bitter lemon and excellent length and lift. 91-94 points. Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

WHITE BLENDS

2018 Yeringberg Viognier Yarra Valley RRP $46
This is exceptional Viognier. Benchmark. Be it Australian or French. This level of warmth is necessitated to showcase the exuberance of the variety: honeysuckle, apricot and ginger glaze. The billowing phenolic chew beautifully melded to a gentle wash of acidity. A plume of flavour brushing the cheeks. This could do with more phenolic pucker, but very fine. 95 points. Ned Goodwin MW, Halliday Wine Companion 2021

2018 Zorah Voskì Voskeat / Garandmak Armenia RRP $64
A blend of indigenous Armenian grapes Voskèat and Garandmak. The grapes for Voskì are sourced from old vineyards at altitudes of 1400m from vines grown on original, ungrafted roots in rocky, sandy soils. In a time when people can’t get enough of Chablis, this wine nails the brief beautifully within that genre. It shows white stone fruits, citrus peel and salty Fino-esque notes on the nose, then the palate follows through with lovely fruit weight and generosity, balanced with pithy texture and a fresh, zesty zip on the finish.

SWEET

2017 Dr Loosen Beerenauslese 375ml Mosel RRP $71
Honey, peppermint, candied citrus, lime and spice. It’s slick and concentrated, pineapple and lime with, again, that candied peel quality, something a little savoury and cheesy, a fine powdery feel to texture, lime cordial and bright, tight acidity on a sustained sweet finish. Very good! 94 points. Gary Walsh, The Wine Front

2016 Gunderloch Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 375ml Rheinhessen RRP $71
Lush and exotic in the nose, but oh so racy and brilliant on the palate, this is a stunning Auslese with a mineral finish that is filigree and intense. Best from 2018 through 2040. 95 points. Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com