Briar Ridge Albarino 2026
AU$40, 12.5% alcohol, screwcap, Hunter Valley.
This is a highly refreshing white wine with a slip of texture, a gently salty element, and a long finish. It tastes of citrus, nectarine, nuts and brine and from start to finish it feels both refreshing and convincing. Another year or two in the bottle will do it a world of good too. 92 points.
Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He founded The Winefront, is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion (and former editor of Halliday magazine), and is the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He is 100% independent, and tastes between 5,000 and 10,000 wines each year, blind and in comparative brackets as often as is practicable.
Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.
