Paralian Fiano 2024
Lacey Vineyard. One third fermented in old French oak puncheons, the remainder in stainless, all on fine lees with some mixing/stirring for texture. A torrid vintage in South Australia, though Fiano is a grape variety that can handle a bit of a hard life. There’s some talk around future-proofing and having the right grape varieties in the ground, so there’s some proof of that particular pudding here. Grillo and Greco might do the job too. Also of note, not that I’m a winemaker or even vaguely technical, is that there’s much less of the banana ester ferment stuff in this year’s model.
Green apple, pear and lemon, oregano perfume, a dusting of white pepper. It’s juicy in green apple flavour, lime and lime leaf perfume, a stony and light chalky grainy grip to texture, again the fresh green apple bite to acidity, with a lively crunch on a finish of good length and raw almond bitterness. Here’s a good drink. It has a sort of rustic let’s-drink-it-fast-and-cold-from-tumblers charm about it, which I think neatly encapsulates the appeal of so many Italian white wines, even though this one is from McLaren Vale. Still, that’s the thing I like about it most. 92 pts, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front.