Hewitson Madame M Blanc & Blanc 2023

A curious mix you might think, but Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains and Sauvignon Blanc can work splendidly together as Madame M shows. The Muscaty sweetness of the former softens the herbal edginess of the latter, and the result is not only harmonious, but guaranteed to have the drinker booking a table at the nearest Thai restaurant. This is the perfect accompaniment to spicy Asian food. Orange blossom and honeysuckle aromas with coriander, Meyer lemon, lime and grapefruit, with just a touch of tangerine. Flows easily on the palate, generating real energy. There’s a light sweetness matched to a textural warmth here against a background of green apple, citrus and Sauvignon coriander herbals. Closes with a lasting, fleshy passionfruit pulp brightness.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic