MDI (Murray Darling Italy) Ribolla Gialla 2024 (6 Bottles) Mildura, VIC

2023 was an “exciting year to be working with alternative varieties from the river”, according to Kev. As was the case elsewhere in Victoria, yields were low in the Murray Darling, but the fruit that made it through to harvest was of excellent quality. The cooler-than-usual season allowed for long hang times, plenty of flavour development and great natural freshness.

This is the MDI wine most inspired by Gravner, and it’s always the most seductive, hedonistic and texturally vibrant in the range. Ribolla Gialla is a grape that shines all the brighter when shown some skin-contact love. It can appear relatively neutral in the vineyard, but get the skins involved and it comes alive. The fruit was sourced from the Chalmers vineyard and spent 77 days on skins in stainless steel. The wine was then drained and transferred to three-year-old hogsheads for a few weeks before being bottled.