Riversdale Estate Pinot Gris 2023

Winemaker, Jasper Marais, has explored skin contact and some richer elements of winemaking with this 2023 Pinot Gris. They include 72 hours of skin contact and fermentation in both stainless steel (80%) and seasoned oak (20%). The result is a textural wine exploring the richer side of the grape with added phenolic grip. Rose gold hues. The scent brings stewed apple, pear and spice to the fore within a richer, seemingly more mature flavour framework for a ’23 vintage wine. There’s a hint of sweetness on the palate, a fruit tingle confection quality, amid more gris-like familiar territory of honeysuckle, ripe, spiced pear, apple and lemon. Impressive intensity and weight – perfect for something rich like pâté en croûte – with acidity playing second fiddle to the mouth-coating creamy qualities.

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