The Real Review has announced its Top Wineries of Australia 2026…
First things first though…Fighting Gully Road has taken out the White Wine of the Year! The winning wine is for the 2023 Smith Vineyard Chardonnay, alongside being ranked #111 in the country’s Top Wineries list for 2026. The recognition marks a significant moment not only for Fighting Gully Road, but for Beechworth Chardonnay more broadly — a region increasingly regarded among Australia’s finest sites for the variety.
Reviewed by renowned wine critic Huon Hooke, the 2023 Smith Vineyard Chardonnay received an exceptional 98-point score, with Hooke describing the wine as:
“Powerfully concentrated and searingly intense” while still “retaining its finesse.”
He noted aromas of “toasty smoky oak”, “almond meal” and “grapefruit/citrus”, alongside palate notes of “toffee”, “peanut brittle” and “buttery croissant”, before concluding:
“Such intensity and drive is almost shocking. Endless length. A great chardonnay.”
The wine comes from the historic Smith Vineyard — planted in 1978 and regarded as the oldest remaining vineyard in the Beechworth region. This result continues a remarkable run of recognition for owner, viticulturist and winemaker Mark Walpole, who was also named Viticulturist of the Year in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion Awards.
For a small, quietly operated winery in North East Victoria, the recognition reinforces what many have long understood: that the combination of site, careful farming and patience can produce wines of genuine international calibre.
Read more from The Real Review here.
