2024 Giaconda Estate Roussanne, Beechworth

An outstanding roussanne of the highest level with exotic appeal. Aromas of grilled lemon, mango, kiwi, wet stone, struck match, fresh herbs and pastry. The palate is tightly wound with a taut acidity that cuts through a textural, rounded mouth, bright acidity and a tense mineral finish. This is as good as it gets for roussanne with a touch of Australian chardonnay-ism about it with a reductive, flashy appeal. Excellent. Drink or hold.

97 points Ryan Montgomery for James Suckling, September 2026

Giaconda's decision to champion roussanne now sees interest in the grape increasing by the second. One taste and the excitement is justified, revealing hidden depths. Aromas offer a complex set of rich scents in peach, citrus, quince, baked apple and pear with the liveliness of woody spices, chamomile and savoury, nutty almond skin. The pulse quickens on the palate with phenolic drive and grip and a seamless journey into a warm roussanne embrace of texture and flavour edged by a gingery herbal note. Runs super smooth and long. Each vintage release ups the ante, showing clearly just what the Rhône Valley grape variety is capable of in its new home. Drink to 2038.

96 points Jeni Port for Halliday Wine Companion, April 2026

The 2024 Estate Vineyard Roussanne leads with white pepper and fennel, pineapple, star Jasmine and green apple, all accompanied by the classic Giaconda reductio, too. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated and rich, yet stops short of being viscose or oily, such is the cut-through of saline acidity. This is routinely one of the most impressive Roussannes in Australia, showing depth, complexity and savory complexity alongside length and phenolic width. It's very good, and the 2024 shows a little more structural integrity than the vintages I have tasted prior. It's an excellent wine that comes warmly recommended.

96 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, March 2026

Giaconda Estate Roussanne from Beechworth is one of Australia’s rarest and most fascinating white wines, a cult bottling from Rick Kinzbrunner that combines Rhône-like depth with the tension and minerality of Beechworth’s granite slopes. The Estate vineyard sits high in the foothills of the Victorian Alps where poor granitic soils and brisk mountain winds limit yields and intensify flavour. Roussanne is famously tricky in the vineyard, but when grown with Giaconda’s rigor, hand harvested at perfect ripeness and wild fermented in barrel before extensive ageing on lees in French oak, it becomes something extraordinary: textural, savoury and totally unique in the Australian wine landscape.