2024 Entropy Riesling, Gippsland

Smelling this, tasting this, well I just wanted to savour it and so I did. While an expression of the site (two old parcels go into this), it’s made with great intent – wild fermentation, on lees for eight months, a mix of stainless steel tank and French oak barrels. That partly explains its fruit profile and texture of lemon and barely ripe white nectarine, freshly sliced Packham pear with a ginger infusion; it’s spicy, tangy and juicy with a succulence across the palate. There’s a fine thread of acidity pulling this together into a long finish. I didn’t want my glass to empty. Drink to 2034.

95+ points & Special Value Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, December 2025

Entropy Wines is the 2019 established project of William Downie-alumnus Ryan Ponsford who farms two dry-grown vineyards on the volcanic soils of the Baw Baw Shire of western Gippsland. Eschewing systemic herbicides or pesticides, his focus is on building soil health, while his work at the winery is a process of constant refinement seeking to present honest expressions of site and season.

The fruit for this wine was grown in two old vine parcels within Entropy’s Warragul vineyard. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, the wine matured on lees for eight months in a combination of stainless steel and seasoned oak barrels.

A dry and textural expression of Riesling, this would drink well with a steamed snapper served with finely cut ginger, lemongrass, light soy and wood ear mushrooms or a crisp and fragrant pork belly glazed with shiro miso and served with a fennel and apple slaw.