Bargain Buy

Mike Frost - 24/03/2009, Courier Mail

This double gold medal winner shows citrus and apricot and floral blossom on the nose and palate with a crisp finish. Enjoy over the next few years with chicken or veal dishes with a good Mediterranean influence. Rating 89/100

Fruit salad in a bottle

Supplements: Budget Wines - 05/05/2009, Illawarra Mercury

The emergence of viognier in recent years continues unabated. This one is a beauty and already has won a swag of medals. Its a fruit salad in a bottle with lashings of pineapple, tropical and citrus on the nose and palate, great acidity and a crisp finish.

This exotic viognier

Angus Hughson - 06/05/2009, Daily Telegraph, Sydney

With a handful of show medals under its belt this exotic viognier is brilliantly priced with tropical blossom fruit underpinned by a creamy rich palate. Best drinking over the next 12 months.

A tasty introduction to the grape

Paddy Kendler - 24/03/2009, Herald Sun - City Style

Chardonnay fans should relate readily to Viognier. The variety typically produces a dry white of similar weight and texture somewhat rounder, broader and more plump than riesling, sauvignon blanc or semillon and this debut release from Deakin is a tasty in

Authentic varietal character

Sunday Magazine - 22/03/2009, Sunday Examiner, Launceston

Until recently, the words "viognier" and 'affordable' could rarely be used in the same sentence... this 2008 release from Deakin Estate will do much to link them together. The wine has authentic varietal character. It displays some exotic, spicy apri

Create your own Hawaiian luau

23/03/2009, News Community Media

WINEMAKER Dr Phil Spillman jokes that with the fruity Iime, pineapple, quince and custard apple flavours in his 2008 inaugural Deakin Estate Viognier, you should put on an Hawaiian shirt just to drink it. Were not sure about the shirt, but hes right a

easy-to-like palate

Ralph Kyte-Powell - 26/05/2009, Epicure - The Age

LATELY, some very good lower-priced viogniers have been arriving. The wine beneath this rather unprepossessing label offers honest varietal character, via floral potpourri, peach and apricot aromas of good intensity and interest, and a succulent, fruity, e

Vibrant, fruity and balanced

Joanna Simon - 26/06/2009, http://www.joannasimon.com, Wines of the Week

Im not a huge fan of viognier. Condrieu, yes, but not the vast majority of viogniers at under £20, let alone at under £10. But this unoaked Australian is delicious – not complex, but vibrant, fruity and balanced with lovely clarity of flavour (peach, grap

Best White Wine Under $10 Award

Peter Forrestal, Quaff, 2010

Every now and then a wine slips under the radar at a winery and, after its been released, the winemaking team (or more likely the marketers if its a sizeable company) wonder how they put it out at that price. This is one such wine. When someone like me notices that a $10 viognier has won a gold at the Sydney Show, he keeps an eye out for it to appear in the new-release tastings. I saw it in one of my Quaff gand the panel loved it. The panel chairman ordered three cases immediately.
The 2008 Viognier is soft, round and fleshy with onion skin, pear, even anise characters, perhaps a hint of apricot kernal, all quite dry and savoury, finishing with a pleasing grip. A great food wine - perhaps with lightly seared scallops or stir-fried prawns - with a dry savoury character that makes for an ideal match. I don't often say this but the wine could have sold for twice the price and no-one would have objected.