Description

Mallaluka Aligote is a brilliant example of the grape. Initially not super-giving, offering jelly bean/jubes with a stoney mineral/flinty note and a briney quality. With time it opens up and over a couple of nights it fills out too. In the mouth, as you would expect of Aligote it is lean, dry, savoury with a tingling acid. It lingers on the palate is clean and moreish.

Mallaluka Aligote

Best served only slightly chilled. You can drink it as is, but a nice shellfish dish, even a prawn curry, would pair well. I wouldn’t bother to age Mallaluka Aligote, but having said that, a 6-12 month rest in the bottle will probably fix its shyness when you first open it.

The motto at Mallaluka seems to be “we drink what we make, the rest is for you.” This family-run winery started in 2014. Low-intervention/experimental batches are the go here. They might learn the hard way one vintage. But next vintage, you bet they will have nailed it.

King Valley

A picturesque region near Victoria’s snowfields. The cool climate wines are elegant and refined. A strong Italian heritage in the area means there are a lot of Italian varieties grown. The best of them are starting to look world-class. Along with Sangiovese, Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, and Nebbiolo, you’ll find quality Chardonnay, Sparkling, Riesling.

Aligote

A variety that shares the same parent as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but not their glorious outlook on wine. Making mealy, lean, mineral and citric wines that tend to lack fruit. Aligote is rarely described as a great wine, perhaps because the best terroirs are planted to other grapes?