Smallfry Isolar Riesling Roussanne 2023 from the Barossa is a full‑bodied, barrel‑fermented white that marries textured Roussanne with juicy, acid‑driven Riesling in a seriously characterful field‑blend style. It follows on from Tangerine Dream in exploring richer whites, but here via whole‑bunch basket pressing straight to barrel and maturation on gross lees rather than extended skin contact.

Aromatically, Isolar 2023 shows yellow‑gold colour in the glass with honeysuckle, tropical fruits, grapefruit pith and a little medicinal eucalypt‑lolly character, plus limey, salty acidity and green‑apple fruit notes underneath. The palate is fresh and juicy up front, then broad and textural through the mid‑palate, with a bit of skinsy pucker and chew, furniture‑like phenolics adding length, and a long, mineral‑laced finish at about 13.8% alcohol. Riesling (about 60%) brings fruit and juiciness while Roussanne (about 40%), with a touch of Marsanne in the mix, surprisingly carries a lot of the freshness and acid.

This is a robust, food‑shaped white that loves dishes with real palate weight – the winery themselves pitch it at butter chicken, and it will also be superb with rich curries, roast chook with creamy sauces, seafood in beurre blanc, or washed‑rind cheeses. It’s a great option when you want something more structured and textural than a straight Riesling, but still bright and energetic on the finish.