“It's hard to imagine how you could want more for the money.” - The Wine Advocate

Viognier is a varietal that rarely tastes of Viognier, because it’s notoriously difficult to work with, so I wasn’t expecting a great deal from this inexpensive example. It’s a grape which needs to be picked at exactly the right hour. If you pick too early, its flavour spectrum lies somewhere between zilch and nada, but if you pick too late, it tastes flabby and limp. It reminds me of Eddie Izzard’s sketch about pears “they’re ripe for half an hour, and you’re never there, they’re like a rock or they’re mush.”

Whoever made this wine knows how to work with Viognier and a closer inspection of the label leads you to the name, in unassumingly small font-size, Michel Chapoutier. Now there’s a chap who knows a thing or two about Rhone varieties, but you will have noticed that this wine comes from Australia not the Rhone Valley, specifically the Pyrenees Highlands in Victoria, where Chapoutier has established an Australian outpost, seeking to explore his passion for biodynamic Viognier and Syrah.

His ‘Mathilda’ Viognier 2024, named after his daughter, Mathilde, is redolent of fresh apricots, honeysuckle, ginger and white peach, with a lovely shimmer of green apple acidity that waltzes across the finish, keeping it lively. There’s a little dash of Marsanne to add a bit of pithy texture too, but the overall impression is a clean, dry, lightly-aromatic white for sipping in the sunshine with a Thai salad or some gochujang chicken wings. 13.5% alc. 82% Viognier, 18% Marsanne. Drink now-2028.

Press reviews:

The Wine Advocate (previous vintage): “I have high hopes for this Mathilda Viognier Marsanne - a very cheap, very aromatic little white wine here. The nose is outrageous: a fete of spring florals, rose petals, lychees and apricots. And the palate delivers all of this in a dry, cleansing, tight package. It's hard to imagine how you could want more for the money. This is ideal with southeast Asian cuisine.” 90 points

Jancis Robinson MW (previous vintage): “Lots of character and an interesting, well-integrated blend from the Chapoutiers. Good Value.” 16 points