2024 Billy Button The Versatile Vermentino, Alpine Valley

The acid brightness, the cut apple freshness really tingles and excites. It's hard to imagine further ageing when vermentino tastes this good so young. Tight, firm, great acid line and length. Along the way the drinker is refreshed in lemon, grapefruit, pear and apple scents and flavours dressed in an almond skin, dry, light savouriness. A cool year delivers something crunchy and super tasty.

94 points Special Value Jeni Port winecompanion.com.au

From the high country of Victoria’s Alpine Valleys, this Vermentino captures the bright, sunlit energy of the region while keeping a distinctly cool climate edge. Billy Button has built a reputation for playful, small batch wines that still take site seriously, and Vermentino thrives in these elevated vineyards where warm days build flavour and cold nights lock in acidity. The Alpine setting gives the variety a little more snap and tension than its Mediterranean cousins, resulting in a wine that is crisp, textural and endlessly drinkable.

The winemaking leans toward freshness and vibrancy. Fruit is handled gently to preserve aromatics and natural crunch, with minimal fuss so the grape’s citrus and herbal character stays front and centre. The aim is versatility in the truest sense, a white that can shift from aperitif to dinner table without missing a beat.

In the glass it shows pale straw with green flashes. Aromas burst with lime zest, green apple and pear, followed by fresh herbs, white flowers and a faint saline note. There is a lifted citrus perfume that feels clean and inviting rather than overtly tropical.

The palate is light to medium bodied and lively, with bright citrus and orchard fruit carried by zippy acidity. A gentle textural grip gives shape through the mid palate, finishing dry, crunchy and refreshing. The wine feels energetic and precise, designed to keep you reaching for another sip.

It is brilliantly food friendly. Think grilled prawns, fish tacos, oysters, salads, light pasta, vegetable dishes and anything involving lemon and olive oil. It also shines on its own as a chilled afternoon wine. Best enjoyed young for maximum freshness and vibrancy, though it will hold comfortably for two to four years.

This is Vermentino as a modern Australian all rounder, bright, coastal in spirit, alpine in freshness and exactly as the name promises, versatile.