From crisp riesling to complex chardonnay, and from textured pinot gris to vibrant grüner veltliner, Australia’s top white wines are showing remarkable depth and diversity right now. This curated selection brings together 18 Halliday-rated white wines that have all scored 93 points or higher, covering everything from everyday drinking to impressive dinner party additions.
Whether you’re building a cellar, planning a special meal or simply looking for a reliable recommendation, these 18 whites will stand you in good stead. Check out the full notes from the Tasting Team below, and click through to add these wines to your shopping cart.
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riesling
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Best’s Wines
Riesling 2025
GrampiansGrampians riesling at its very best. It defines varietal intensity but so too a fine and utterly delicious delicacy of touch. Aromatic, spicy, apple and lime scented with a lemon-lime essence quality, almost crystalline, that impresses and resonates deep. The palate brings an airy, powdery expression that runs deep and long and intense in lemon-lime citrus, grapefruit pith, apple and gingery spice married to a pure and lively acidity. Runs long, stays bright and will age and keep on going. -
Skillogalee
Trevarrick Riesling 2025
Clare ValleyThe fruit for this wine is sourced from the higher elevation contours on the Skillogalee vineyards. It has intensity and a deep flavour profile, a cavalcade of florals and citrus in the perfume, chalky pucker to texture, a taut, long, racy line in texture. Obvious lime juice characters meet red apple, brown skin pear, a touch of pink grapefruit, mandarin juice and faint minty qualities. It feels powerful and energetic, almost brusque in youth (though a day open and the wine was singing). One for the future, and then some. Stellar release. -
Brangayne of Orange
Riesling 2025
OrangeBergamot and orange flowers. Baked apple and lemon sherbet. The off-dry style suits the pretty, fruity, floral notes. It maintains its crisp acidity and coils of energy. Finishes dry and sandy with a lacy texture. Another wine with detail from Brangayne of Orange. -
Clonakilla
Riesling 2025
Canberra DistrictAh riesling – vintage barely done and dusted yet here you are in my glass. You’re a delight and delicious, even in this still-evolving stage; the patient will be rewarded, so pop some away in the cellar. Open it today and you’ll be greeted by a waft of lemon and lime blossom, waxy hoya flowers and plenty of citrus tang on the palate, with a distinct mandarin flavour. There are no harsh edges with the acidity, just a lovely sensation of talc and texture. -
Fervor
Dokta Nova Riesling 2025
Great SouthernThis is ludicrous value. A skittish, racy and pure-feeling riesling of tart pink grapefruit intensity given added flavour from green apple, pickled lime, light dill herbal characters and a swish of brine. It's got excellent shape, energy and length, and feels delicious and refreshing at once. A little chalky pucker through the finish seals the deal. Top flight. -
Werkstatt
Riesling 2025
Mount GambierMade in a Kabinett style; the juice is slowly fermented in stainless steel; two months on gross lees and two months on fine lees; 13.5g/l in the final wine. A bite of loquat, pineapple skin and lemonade fruit. There is apple leaf and sparks of lime. The palate is bedazzled with salinity and pick-me-up freshness. Fruit sweetness is well worked into the body of the wine. It's hard to imagine a white wine that is more approachable, with acidity that rolls throughout the palate in cascading waves. This is so tastefully curated, shining a light on the suitability of riesling in Mount Gambier. A wine of total elation for breakfast, lunch, pre-dinner and throughout.
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chardonnay
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Sidewood Estate
Owen's Chardonnay 2024
Adelaide HillsA deeply beguiling release of Owen's. It boasts a brilliant and prismatic palate of white peach, nectarine and nutmeg spice. Toasted almond and tarragon. The texture and volume here are dialled up, yet precision and balance are the true cornerstones. Expect a little flinty struck match, plenty of tension, but also generosity of fruit, ripples of lemon curd and currents of salinity, all coursing through with great intent. -
TarraWarra Estate
Swallowfield Vineyard Chardonnay 2024
Yarra ValleyFrom a 30-plus-year-old vineyard in Gembrook that TarraWarra now leases and has started major renovations on, Sarah Fagan has crafted a superb first-up wine. No mlf and matured in 15% new puncheons. A very bright green gold. You'll find aromas of subtle marine scents, nectarine and pink grapefruit. It's just as good, too, on the chalky-textured, elegant, fine-boned and tension-packed palate. A gorgeous wine that will slowly unfurl over the next five to seven years at least. -
Tony Bish Wines
Zen Chardonnay 2024
Hawkes BayIf you find yourself in Napier, you must visit Tony Bish's urban winery in the old National Tobacco Company Building. It's a cracking spot and not to be missed. Chardonnay from Kokako Farms in the Ohiti subregion here and it is absolutely gorgeous. Pure white peach, nectarine and citrus fruits, white flowers, clover blossom, clotted cream, roasted cashews, struck flint, crushed stone, vanilla and layers of spice. It's a wine of finesse and a wine in impeccable form, with rich, powerful flavours perfectly in check with the fine, lacy acidity and creamy textural elements. And that finish just sails on for ages. Superb. -
Winmark Wines
Icon 7 2 Chardonnay 2023
Broke FordwichThis was crafted from a small plot of vines over half a century old. A chardonnay of distinction, offering remarkable depth and intensity that reflects its old-vine pedigree. It is compelling for its concentration and rounded, unctuous nature, while also retaining freshness from a defined core of acidity. The mid-palate bursts with sweet fruit, including ripe lemon, golden delicious apple and poached pear, complemented by nuances of quality French oak. Long, layered and utterly delicious, with a sumptuous character that keeps you coming back for more. -
Aptitude Wine
Chardonnay 2024
Adelaide HillsThis is a stellar chardonnay. It sizzles on the palate, minerally and crisp, licked by gingery and cinnamon toast savouriness while running the gamut of citrus over green apple, just-ripe stone fruits, green pineapple and a light fog of sea spray. Tight and tense, excellent perfume and persistence in tow. A tour de force of compact, lithe chardonnay with refreshment factor in tow. Wonderful stuff. -
Leogate Estate Wines
Vicki's Choice Reserve Chardonnay 2024
Hunter ValleyOne for lovers of soft, generous and voluminous chardonnays. Aged in French oak with extended lees contact and occasional stirring. Wildly intense and flowing with pristine ripe peach and pineapple flavours with hints of nutmeg and Chantilly cream. The palate is long, satisfying and pillowy. It is a joyful style and tastes of sunshine. -
Tony Bish Wines
Golden Egg Chardonnay 2024
Hawkes BayWhole-bunch-pressed chardonnay, with the free run heading to concrete egg for fermentation. Bright and purely fruited, with characters of citrus and white peach fruits layered with clover blossom, nougat, almond paste, crushed stone, cashew butter, soft spice and ozone. It's taut and wonderfully focused with a sapid cadence, but what is a recurring theme for me with wines raised in concrete eggs is the calmness to their form. It's a sense that they are comfortable in their own skin… harmonious. Of course, the fact that it's flippin' delicious is a bonus, too! -
Tony Bish Wines
Skeetfield Chardonnay 2024
Hawkes BayTony Bish is a legend of New Zealand wine and his track record with chardonnay is something else – from the Sacred Hill wines of the late '80s and '90s to his beautiful, eponymously named wines of today. Dry farmed Mendoza clone here; expressive and detailed with pristine stone and citrus fruits, wisps of struck flint and daubed with spiced oatmeal, clover blossom, almond paste, ozone, cashew oak and cream. There's plenty of flavour but there's also tension and velocity, nothing out of place and everything focusing to a spicy, stone fruit end point. A chardonnay with both latent power and grace. -
Ridgemill Estate
WYP Chardonnay 2025
Granite BeltA glossy, sophisticated offering that leans into restraint, purity, gentle oak seasoning, a clip of minerality and a quiet savouriness. Just so. A beauty, with huge drinkability and yet the ability to make you pause and seek out the nuance in the wine. It's in a very youthful phase at present, but should open up further, delight with some richness and honeyed characters in future. For now, just-ripe stone fruits, a touch of nougat, wafer biscuit, ginger and green almond on song. What a ripper. -
Attwoods Wines
Glenlyon Estate Chardonnay 2023
Macedon RangesWild yeast fermentation, unfiltered, unfined. A warm chardonnay embrace from a cool climate. A concentrated style that employs smart winemaking to build impressive depth of flavour. Acacia, roasted hazelnut, spiced stone fruits, grilled grapefruit, shortbread and lemon butter aromas are deep set and richly defined. Rounded and warm, the palate is buttery smooth, with a long sweep of ripe stone-fruit flavour, spice, nougat, toasted nuts and some rising honeyed notes. A mellow wine that offers excellent drinking enjoyment over the medium term.
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other whites
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Longview Vineyard
Macclesfield Grüner Veltliner 2025
Adelaide HillsThis has verve and pluck. It nips and tucks across the palate, tonic water and dill pickle with radish and green apple chiming in. Distinctly varietal in that regard. Ultra refreshing, just the right dose of edge and crunch to texture, a good drive of flavour and persistence in tandem. This makes for excellent drinking, and does great service to the variety's credentials in the region. -
Sidewood Estate
Pinot Gris 2025
Adelaide HillsA classic and impressive example of pinot gris. A varietally persuasive nose of white florals and spice with plenty of pear, crystallised ginger and lemon curd. Such a smart wine; a portion of the fruit was wild fermented in large format French oak, for the promise of texture and intrigue. Swills of stone fruit, white nectarine and peach, together with a blanched almond nuttiness. The spiced pear and the texture shine true and pure. A whole and intentional expression of gris.
Top image credit: Sidewood Estate
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