This extremely young, 2026 vintage, wine takes its inspiration from a saying attributed to Galileo: “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered, the point is to discover them.” Time, then, to discover this wine. My own discovery was rather less astronomical. I spotted it at Aldi as the discounted Wine of the Week.
It’s produced by Australia’s De Bortoli, a name I usually associate with honeyed, sweet dessert wines. Viognier, meanwhile, tends to send my thoughts straight to France. This bottle is an example from much further afield.
In the glass, it’s almost clear, but there’s plenty happening in the aroma with apricot, peach, honeysuckle and ginger. The flavour is equally very expressive, with strong stone fruit and a little citrus, while the sweetness sits somewhere between dry and off-dry. It’s medium-bodied and, for me, improves as it warms a little. The flavours deepen, although it doesn’t develop the roundness I might expect from a French Viognier. There’s medium acidity and a long finish.
Compared with the French versions I associate with the grape, this feels less round/oily and fresher, yet still delivers plenty of intensity. The label calls it ‘smooth’ but ‘fresh’ is the word I’d reach for first. At 12% ABV, it’s also lighter in alcohol than I’d usually expect from French examples. I do wonder whether alcohol-led UK duty has influenced that figure.
I’d happily pay the usual £7.99, especially when French Viogniers so often cost more. At the £3.99 I paid for Aldi’s Wine of the Week, it was a bargain. A discovery worth making.
