SOUMAH Pinot Grigio 2025

Neon colour here — burnt orange with rusty hues. Put some ice and a slice of orange in here and it’ll look like an Aperol Spritz! I like when producers lean into colour with this grape; it adds interest. It smells of freshly sliced green pear, toasted walnuts, red apple and lemon zest with some subtle cinnamon spice woven through. There are flickers of apple blossom and lees-derived pastry dough beneath. The palate holds nice texture and weight with notes of pear, red apple skin, cinnamon and mashed strawberry. There’s some blood orange bite and a good firm line of tangy, lemon-juice-laden acidity working with fine chalky phenolics to frame up and elongate the finish. I rate this — it has savoury dimension in balance with the fruit, good structure, bite, bitter tones and length. But most of all, it has interest and personality unlike so many. I’d like to see more Pinot Grigio of this style being produced in Australia. Very good indeed.