Matt Burton from Gundog Estate has created the Indomitus range as a challenge to the norms of winemaking for Semillon and Shiraz. Here he’s gone for a blend of Canberra District Riesling with the Semillon from the dry grown Vernon vineyard. Wild yeasts and a portion of the wine on skins (175 days!)for extended maceration.

Gundog Estate, Indomitus Albus, Semillon, Riesling, Hunter Valley, Canberra, 2022

Despite the parcel held on skins, the wine retains is pure lemon straw hue. Complexity in fragrance: Lemon/lime amalgam (skin, zest, pith, flesh, leaf) with roast almond, straw matting, SAO biscuit, wet sand, cigarette tobacco and white nectarine skin. The palate is where this shifts into a different gear altogether: while the expected acidity hits just as you braced for (and continues to pulse and smart for some considerable length),  the textural structure and layers of flavour overdeliver with a unique, uncompromising ambition and intensity.

RRP: $45
Alc: 11%
Rating: 18.25/20 (93/100)

Wine sample courtesy of Gundog Estate