While Australia may be globally celebrated for its reds, the country’s whites have long held a distinctive place in the world of wine. Often crafted from classic French varietals, they are increasingly commanding attention for their purity, complexity, and age-worthiness. Though we have known how good these wines are for some time, the world is finally waking up to the incredible quality and distinctive styles that we produce. Over time, they have become unique expressions with a wonderful sense of regional identity, clarity and balance. 

Australian Chardonnay has undergone one of the most profound evolutions in modern winemaking. From the bold, heavily oaked styles of the 1990s, today’s top expressions, particularly from regions like Margaret River, the Yarra Valley, focus on restraint, minerality, and finely tuned acidity. These wines marry precision with generosity now among some of the finest Chardonnays on the global stage.

Viognier, while somewhat fallen out of favour, found an early champion in Australia through producers like Yalumba, who recognized its potential in the Eden Valley and beyond. Today there's one of the finest in the land, aromatic and textured, with a richness and poise that is hard not to love.

Riesling of course needs no introduction and while the first thoughts may go to the Clare Valley, Victoria's great west, and particularly those from Henty in Victoria, offers another face of this beloved varietal. Here, Rieslings of extraordinary finesse and tension showcase some of the country's finest examples, similar to and rivaling some of the great examples of Germany or Alsace. Similarly, Marsanne, particularly from the historic vines of the Goulburn Valley, contributes a distinctive voice to the Australian white landscape. With its waxy texture, notes of honeysuckle and almond, and graceful evolution over time, Marsanne is both a nod to tradition and a reminder of Australia’s viticultural depth.

Together, these iconic Australian whites illustrate the country’s ability to craft wines that are both expressive and enduring—wines that respect their origins while offering something uniquely Australian.

2024 is officially the 60th anniversary of the planting of Drumborg vineyard. A truly wonderful milestone! A terrific wine, too, opening with focused aromas of lemon sherbet, pink grapefruit, makrut lime and orange blossom. The palate is just as focused and pure fruited, with the wine's 3.6g/L residual sugar perfectly balanced by its mouth-watering acidity. Have this with food now, but make sure you still have a bottle or two a decade, or longer, from now. (97) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

The Drumborg vineyard is now 60 years old. I’ve never visited it but I’d love to one day.

There’s a delicacy to this wine. It’s the kind of delicacy we don’t see enough of in Australian riesling. The acidity, which is flavoured in itself, plays in with the fruit. There are floral characters, along with apple and lime, and where lime blossom stops and lime leaf starts is hard to tell because everything is marshalled as one. Balanced, yes, this wine is balanced, perfectly. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

Crisp, herby/nettly and peppery aromas of a cold-climate wine. The palate is very dry and crisp, lively and almost slightly austere, a steely style of riesling with a serious backbone and length, presaging long-term ageing potential. I'd cellar this a while. HUON HOOKE, The Real Review 

I’ve been tasting the Private Bin range with Chris Tyrrell for twelve years now, which is both alarming, and kind of reassuring. CT says this one is a real ‘white Burgundy’ style. Agree.

Straight off just loved this release. It’s soft and round, yet finely wrought with pure acidity, fine powdery texture and a splendidly long finish, subtle bitterness in tow. Flavours are almost into white peach and white flowers, yet the signature lime and lemon is still there. It’s already a great thing to drink, but with a few more years on it, should be a thing of beauty.  (96) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front

Edgy straw and lemon bouquet, with a broken-rock minerality, the wine is intense and deeply flavoured, with gorgeous lemon and lemon balm flavours that run very long and harmonious. Impressive wine, drinking beautifully now but has years to go. (96) HUONE HOOKE, The Real Review

The warm, dry, low-yielding '18 vintage produced semillons that are distinctive in style, with ripe, concentrated flavours and generous fruit. This Belford has gorgeous preserved-lemon aromatics with some fresh citrus curd. The palate is laden with sweet pear and juicy melon flavours, and although it is a riper style, the wine still has the fruit purity and palate softness for which the vineyard is renowned. The finish is long and delicious, with just a hint of nuttiness on the close. (94) TONI PATERSON MW, Halliday, Wine Companion

SPECIAL  VALUE - 1927 Vines is a fine example of the amazing versatility of the marsanne grape. It is probably its purest expression, capturing its essential beauty early and then allowing bottle age to bring complexity. From 2016 we see lovely florals emerging on the bouquet, showing signature honeysuckle, grilled grapefruit and almond development. Belies its age with a youthful energy and drive across the palate, lively acidity matched by a soft texture. By no means at its peak. (95) JENI PORT, Halliday Wine Companion 

There’s rich, nutty, waxy flavour here but there’s also zip, throughout, and a refreshing juiciness to the finish.  This is a very good aged marsanne it has to be said. Lanolin, peanut brittle, citrus, grapefruit and fragrant herb characters all make contributions here. It’s excellent. (94) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front 

SPECIAL VALUE - Yalumba's Virgilius Viognier remains a benchmark for the variety in Australia. Expressive but so finely focused and precise, nothing blown out of proportion, no mean feat with this persnickety variety. Tautly stretched citrus fruits with a whiff of apricot kernel and hints of white flowers, crushed stone, almond meal, white flowers, some distant marzipan and clover blossom. Stony-pure on the palate with a lovely bright mineral cadence and a dry, enduring finish. (96) DAVE BROOKES, Halliday Wine Companion

Attractive aromas of lavender, white nectarines, orange blossoms, fresh apricots and talcum powder. The palate is full-bodied with finely balanced phenolics and bright acidity that carry powerful flavors of lemon curd, rosewater, kaffir limes and peaches. Well balanced and powerful, with underlying tension. Drink or hold. Screw cap. (95) JAMES SUCKLING 

SPECIAL VALUE - Made from the Briarston vineyard (planted '94) and House Block (planted '85). Barrel fermented and matured in 50% new puncheons and barriques. A very bright green gold. Poised with aromas of stone fruits, grapefruit and a little crushed stone. Beautifully balanced and nuanced and finishes with a little orange pith on the exceptionally long palate. It's also worth pointing out that, on a world-wide scale, this is very fairly priced. (97) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Comapanion

Bright, light yellow hue with creamy, mealy, nutty sur-lie characters overlying stone-fruit and pear fruit nuances, the palate delicate and fresh, bright and intense with precision and drive. Hazelnut touches emerging. Refined and long, lovely now and promises to reward cellaring. (96) HUONE HOOKE, The Real Review

What a beautiful chardonnay. Long, elegant, and intense-enough. It wouldn’t necessarily stand out out in a line-up but it would stand out at the dinner table. It tastes of white peach, pear drops, lemon curd and grapefruit, though there’s a grapey character in play too, and slips of smoked cedar, and something in the vicinity of honey and white flowers. It’s delicious, is what it is. Every flavour, nuance, texture and rope is placed with care, and yet it has an ease to it. (95) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front 

SPECIAL VALUE - From 500m above sea level. You can smell the flint and struck match from a foot away from the glass. It's of a distinct style, all minerally, chalky-puckering and racy, but there's enough depth of flavour to titillate and please all comers, while being distinctly savoury and complex. Fantastic. Almond friand amongst green apple, grapefruit, mineral water, lime with umami-like characters rolling through. Touches of parmesan and sea spray also here. You could keep the descriptors rolling. Utterly fantastic wine, where flavour is paramount, texture is stellar, length is outstanding; it's refreshing, and the wine is just straight-up delicious. Kudos. (97) MIKE BENNIE, Halliday Wine Companion

Light, bright yellow hue with a gentle trace of smoky reduction on the lemony bouquet, the palate delicate and refined with lemon and grapefruit, malt biscuit, a kiss of fresh oak, and an extended aftertaste of lovely balance.  (95) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review

Its impeccable self. Flavours of pear and quartz, nectarine and cedar, a gentle floral element, a subtle lactose note. It feels powerful, taut and refined at once. This is not a smack-you-in-the-eyes chardonnay and yet its quality and intensity are clear. As with many of the finest Australian chardonnays now, this will need a year or three from release to start showing its best self. (93+)CAMPBELL MATTINSON

Wonderfully constructed, showing polished aromas of lime curd, lemon balm, orange blossoms and gun smoke on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied with precise acidity and a generous mouthfeel, giving notes of fresh pineapple, white peaches, lime curd and shortbread. Drink or hold. Screw cap. (95) JAMES SUCKLING