2024 Carte Blanche Chardonnay

There’s a warmth to this one that feels like walking into a kitchen where something’s been baking for hours. First hit? Quince and sourdough starter – complex, alive. Then, a full-body hug of baked rhubarb crumble. Juicy in all the right places – nectarine, guava—like biting into something you should probably share (but may decide not to). Lifted, floral, super accessible. On the palate, sweet-pickled ginger, a lemongrass spiciness to keep you guessing and the umami of oyster shells. You’ll want cheese. (Soft-rind.) There’s something indulgent about this wine but nothing precious as it overdelivers in the best way. Can be enjoyed now but time will deepen an already compelling story.

2024 Ego is the Enemy Pinot Gris

Kicking off with the warm seduction of shortbread cookies – the result of lees contact – the deeper story of Ego’s 2024 vintage starts to reveal itself. A small crop picked on two different days to maximise sunshine and ripeness in this challenging season followed by time rolling gently in a concrete, egg-shaped fermenter gives aromas of pear drops, confectionery, and sherbert atop honeycomb wax and sundried orange slices. On the palate there’s the refreshing ambiance of gin and pink grapefruit with a sprinkle of black pepper. Built for age and evolution. Pinot Gris is a quiet achiever that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves, but this one says enough to set the record straight.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 2 June 2025

'It opens with the lustre of confected pear and baked apple, with nutmeg sprinkled on top. A very pretty and grounding sweet shortcrust pastry element greets the sweetness and ripeness of fruit. This wine embodies the glory of gris. Spicy and textural, yet with the fleshy acidity of pink grapefruit; there is supreme balance and freshness here. This is not your backup bottle, it's the main event.'

94 Silver

2024 Gut Feeling

Our beautiful marriage of Chardonnay and Riesling celebrates another anniversary, and once again proves the adage that there is strength in numbers. Where last vintage had a spritzy cleanliness to it, this year is jasmine flowers, billowing French linen sheets, and a clear nod to Puligny-Montrachet with integrated acids and a lilting, velvety texture. The palate is a seamless blend of Chardonnay’s rounded power and grip and Riesling’s spice and piquancy. Greater than the sum of its parts, Gut Feeling creates conversations that quickly move past the pinpointing of the varietal. 70% Chardonnay from the Swaby vineyard and 30% Riesling from Brackenwood in Kuitpo. Pressed to a 1000L oval barrel. Bâtonage in June, July and August, etc etc.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 2 June 2025

'This is an unconventional blend of 70/30% chardonnay/riesling, yet it makes damn good sense. Spritzy, cheerful and laden with personality and texture, this traverses the full spectrum of lime, from pulp to zest, with a sherbety, Packham pear and lemon drop spine. Electric currents of mouth-puckering acidity tingle through the ends.'

94 Silver

2024 Skin-n-Bones Gamay

Gamay is such a satisfying grape for a winemaker, with all of the lift and depth of Pinot Noir and far fewer of the sleepless nights. Where last vintage gave strawberries and red lollies, 2024 is deeper, savourier and tending towards the mulberry spectrum. This wine bears essentially no relation to the cloying Gamay styles that give the varietal its unfortunate reputation for simplicity. Balanced, soft, and very easy to love. 100% Gamay from Brackenwood in Kutipo. 100% whole bunch fermentation in concrete open fermenters. 15 days on skin and pressed to 2- to 3-year old French barriques for 10 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 16 June 2025

'Intensely pigmented, focused and concentrated gamay right here. 100% whole bunch, some reductive funk and a definitive stemmy backbone – though not underripe; this is slurpable yet serious. Fresh strawberry and raspberry powder at the core and Campari edges, all tied together with rosemary as a garnish. Densely packed yet loosely knit, it feels uncultivated and agrestal, with enough tannin to stand up to the main event at the table. Nice one.'

94 Silver

2024 Skin-n-Bones Pinot Noir

Where vintage 2023 was a cool, lengthy, worrisome affair, vintage 2024 moved reassuringly quickly. Pre-harvest warmth is reflected in the intensity and generosity of all of the wines the season produced, and none more so than Skin-n-Bones Pinot Noir. Exceptional colour and palate weight balanced with herbaceous notes of thyme and mint. Currently giving shades of a dark-eyed, brooding teen, as this wine matures further it promises to develop an even more complex personality. You’ll definitely be needing some for today and some for the cellar. Four Pinot Noir clones (predominantly MV6), 30 days on skins, 10% new French oak for 10 months.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 23 June 2025

'The concentration in this wine is pure delight! Ripples of flavour and gastronomic aromas. It's all earth and a bench full of market-fresh produce – pomegranate, thyme, punchy red cherry, some interesting vegetal, herbal salt characters, lively beetroot and roast parsnip. On the palate it unveils more of its foraged treasures – field mushrooms and spices in its back pocket. A drink for now and next.'

94 Silver

2024 Amphora

Who knew that you could taste a shape? If you don’t believe it, Amphora may well convince you. This Syrah/Gamay blend has the tear-drop structural contours of the amphora it is fermented in, with a rounded, juicy entrée tapering to a tight finish. You can practically smell the deep, red earth along with red-whip liquorice and toasted coconut. The palate is peppered meats and sweet fruit with a BK signature of Campari bitters. Serious and well balanced, this is one for genuine contemplation. 70% Syrah from Murdoch Hill and 30% Gamay from Brackenwood. 100% whole bunch co-fermented 15 days then pressed to clay amphora for 10 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 23 June 2025

'A slurpy little blend of 70/30% amphora-aged syrah/gamay here. It's playful and upbeat, perfect for sipping and swilling, with blue fruits and spice. Blueberry, blackberry and homemade raspberry fruit leather with an umami postlude of pepper-crusted meats. It tastes slightly ferrous, and the texture seems porous, with cavities in which the acidity and brightness fluctuate in and out. Cold day, fire on, good tunes and this. Yes please.'

94 Silver

2024 Skin-n-Bones Savagnin

Our Skin-n-Bones Savagnin is a bit like what might happen if Jura took an educational tour of Burgundy. Where Jura Savagnin can be delightfully rustic and sherried by reduction, this iteration is far finer and more elegant. Saline and umami on the nose, like aged and crystallised parmesan. Mouth-watering on the palate with flavours of aromatic Fuji appples, sweet ‘lemon’ cucumbers, and an unexpected honeysuckle note. Incredible length. A holiday to the banks of the Saône well spent.

Halliday Wine Companion review by Katrina Butler

Published on 2 June 2025

'Brendon Keys understands what savagnin needs. Here, he has captured the briny, fruit-forward and sea-spray qualities of the variety, retaining floral freshness (a nod to the 'ouillé' styles of the Jura). Repercussive length, which in turn brings forth notes of apple, dill and cucumber. It has a slightly slippery, granular texture with an amino acid crystal quality, similar to that found in hard cheese, with umami and mushroom broth undertones. It appreciates some air. Let it breathe. And then make a stuffed baguette its friend.'

95 Gold

(Image: BK Wines / www.bkwines.com.au)