A couple of months ago, I took part in a Zoom tasting of several wines from Victoria, Australia. The region, which boasts over 600 wineries, is making a push to expand into the American market and, as such, has enlisted marketing/PR firms to help in that endeavor.

Thus, when I received an email asking if I wanted to learn more about the region and its wines, I readily agreed. Admittedly, I know very little about Australian wine in general and Victorian wine in particular, so I figured I could up my game a bit, so to speak.

After a couple of online tastings now, I can make a couple of assertions. First, the wines that I have tried have certainly been excellent and affordable (as long as you consider $20-40-ish “affordable”). Second, it seems as though the region has a compelling story to tell with a vast variety of terroir, most of the wineries are small and family owned, and there is an incredible diversity of varieties grown in Victoria.

But.

Again, the wines have been excellent and the varieties and stories have been compelling, but I am not sure what the plan is to infiltrate a very crowded and competitive U.S. wine market. Most of the producers I have tried thus far are relatively small (think under 10,000 cases produced) and the U.S. market, with its stupid three-tier system of selling wine, is not conducive to limited production wines from overseas.

But.

I hear you (or at least I hear the marketing types): that is where I come in. OK, let’s accept the somewhat dubious premise that I can in any way move markets (stop laughing), the wines still have to be available in various markets across the country in order to be purchased.

Perhaps it is a cart-before-the-horse type scenario; the fine folks in Victoria want media types like me to create some “buzz” so that consumer types (presumably those who read blogs like this one), will be intrigued and start asking their local wine shops to carry more wine from Victoria.

Or something like that?

Regardless, the wines are good and here are a few more that I have tasted recently.

2019 Best’s Great Western Shiraz Bin No 1, Victoria, Australia: Retail $25. Responsible Bottle (585g; 1lb 4.6oz). Under screw cap. This week I had an online tasting with the fine folks at Wine Victoria and this was the fifth and last bottle. While certainly the biggest (and hence last), it was not the best wine in the lineup. Sure, it was dark, in both color and aromas which were dominated by the fruit (blackberry, cassis, spice), and while there is plenty of fruit on the palate as well, it seems to be a bit of one trick pony: it’s all about the fruit. Don’t get me wrong, fruit is important (and there is plenty here), but this could use an infusion of acidity. Very Good. 88 Points.

2013 Castagna Un Segreto, Beechworth, Victoria, Australia: Retail $90. Responsible Bottle (564g; 1lb 3.9oz). Under DIAM10. 60% Sangiovese, 40% Syrah. Every once in a while, as a wine writer, you get thrown a bit of a bone. I have stated many times that age is the most difficult aspect to obtain in wine. Very few wineries hold back wine and when they do, rarely do they hand it off to schmucks like me. So when this 2013 was part of the most recent Zoom with the fine folks at Wine Victoria, I was a bit over-the-moon. OK, that was hyperbole, but I am watching a movie I have already seen with my wife; I have to spice things up a bit. Medium color with a bit of bricking on the rim and aromas of baked blackberry and plum. Nicely balanced with the somewhat baked fruit and a subtle zinginess that holds it all together. Very nice. Excellent. 92 Points.

2022 Punt Road Pinot Gris, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia: Retail $25. Responsible Bottle (539g; 1lb 3oz). Under screw cap. Only 104 cases imported. I know very little about the region but I have been a part of several online tastings with the folks from Wine Victoria and a number of the winemakers. There are no huge producers in the region, rather it is a collection of about 600 small, mostly family-owned wineries. This Pinot Gris was described as a cross between the Italian and Alsatian styles but I would simply say it is delicious: bright pear and peach in the glass with plenty of weight on the palate. There is also more than ample zing to pair with that fruit and that harmony races hand in hand all the way to the finish. Wonderful. Excellent. 91 Points.

2021 Silent Way Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges, Victoria, Australia: Retail $30. Ridiculously Responsible Bottle (420g; 14.8oz). Under screw cap. Honestly, I have not had much Pinot Noir from Australia and until a recent Zoom series with the fine folks from Wine Victoria, I probably would have said that what Pinot *is* produced “down under” likely has a critter on it and therefore is not very good (to put it kindly). Well, this Silent Way, one could argue, *does* have a critter (at least of sorts?) on it, but it is down right tasty. Magenta and not quite translucent in the glass with surprisingly darker fruit on the nose (black cherry, plum, blackberry). The palate is fruity, even quite fruity, but balanced with a zippy zinginess and more than a modicum of body. Perhaps a slightly above average finish solidifies the contention that there are still solid Pinots right at thirty bucks. Excellent. 90 Points.

2023 Patrick Sullivan Chardonnay, Gippsland, Limestone Coast, Victoria, Australia: Retail $35. Responsible Bottle (549g; 1lb 3.3oz). Under screw cap. This Chard comes from Gippsland, which is in Victoria, South Eastern Australia. And there, you know just about as much as I do concerning this wine. Quite a bit of color in the glass, perhaps a shade past straw and on its way to yellow? Classic Chard aromas of orchard fruit (mostly red and golden delicious apple) and citrus, with some subtle oak. The oak is more prominent on the palate (15% new French), but it works with the creamy, tart elixir, much more in the Burgundian style than the California Cougar Juice mold. At $35, this is not really a daily drinker (at least for me), but it goes down quite easily and leaves me longing for more. Outstanding. 93 Points.