While I’ve talked about visiting Australia’s Victoria region (over ten years ago!), highlighted wines from its unusually ancient soils, and explored selections from its primarily family-owned producers, I haven’t really talked about the fact that the region still packs quite a punch in terms of value delivered per hard-earned buck spent.
Ever-changing tarriff issues aside, the latest virtual tasting event that I attended for Victoria wines drove home the fact that I keep encountering wines from the area that I would expect (for now, at least) to have much larger price tags.
Here are six of them, each either priced well below their relative quality levels, or incredibly fairly priced. Which, these days, I suppose makes them as newsworthy as anything else!
2021 Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris, 75% King Valley / 25% Yarra Valley, Victoria, $18
I’ve got some direct history with this producer, having visited in the past. There’s an interesting aspect about this wine’s sourcing that I wasn’t previously privvy to, however: King Valley sits in the foothills, and has an Italian immigrant background. Which means you can still find plenty of Italian varieties planted there. In this case, it has birthed an intensely zippy white (both on the nose and in the mouth). This mostly hand-picked PG is a floral, citric delight, with cut lemon and mandarin aromas, and melon and just-ripe pear flavors that all go down easy. The finish is crisp, tangy and shows a tiny bit of structural astringency to match its buoyant acidity.
2021 Best’s Great Western Riesling, Victoria, $25
This hails from one of Australia’s oldest family-run wineries: Best was founded in the 1860s, and has had only two family owners during the ensuing century and a half span. Sourced form vines planted on hard clay loam soils, this white offers up lime rind and fragrant jasmine on the nose, with abundant green and yellow apples, and hints of pears and honey. The palate is long, fresh, and lifted by electric acidity and a steely reserve, with approachable, ripe lime flavors intermingling with apples and kumquat.
2024 Zilzie Sauvignon Blanc, Victoria, $15
Lemongrass aromas, with passionfruit and grapefruit action spill out of the glass on this fresh and friendly white. Flavors of lemon, melon, and a whistle-clean mouthfeel leads to an herbal finish, and puts a button on a thoroughly food-friendly, crowd-pleasing sipper.
2023 Yering Station Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Victoria, $35
Victoria is always good for fascinating Pinots, and this one is a regional standard-bearer from Yering Station. It has violets, cranberry, bright red cherry, a hint of game meat, and baking spices that kick off the nose. The palate balances between savory notes and juicy red berry fruitiness, with excellent freshness, peppery spiciness, and soft, tea-like tannins. An elegant expression of a cooler, leaner vintage.
2022 Chalmers ‘Mother Block’ Red, Murray-Darling, Victoria, $18
Chalmers has been one of the stalwarts of importing and growing Italian varieties in Victoria, and this red (sourced from their Estate Vineyard at Merbein), pulls together a cornucopia of them (mostly from southern Italy): 62% Sagrantino, 17% Nero d’Avola, 7% Aglianico, 6% Sangiovese, 5% Uva di Troia, 2% Teroldego, and 1% Piedirosso. Pepper spices and chewy, plummy red fruit are the hallmarks of this “kitchen sink” style blend. Tangy red cherry and a fruity sense of fun lead the charge in the mouth. This is fun, well-made, and an irresistibly tasty option for pasta.
NV All Saints Muscat, Rutherglen, Victoria, $25
While it hardly sees any wine media airplay, I’ve long been a fan of Rutherglen Muscat, and of All Saints in particular. This “sticky” is made from wine that’s 7+ years old on average. Baked caramel, earth, dried rose petals, and rum raisin – the nose lets you know that you’re in for a sweet treat from this historic property. Flavors of sultana, honey, butterscotch, molasses, and drizzled caramel. Through it all, the decadent lusciousness does not lack for freshness.
Cheers!