2026 Halliday Top Rated

The best other whites and blends in Australia

By The Tasting Team

The tripe.Iscariot Kroos Chenin Blanc 2023 has been named the best Australian wine in the other white and blends category.

The Halliday Wine Companion Awards celebrate the top wines in Australia – as chosen by our esteemed wine critics who spend the year tasting and reviewing wine from across the country. Below, you'll find Australia's best white wines that don't fall into our main varietal categories, along with the ratings awarded by the Tasting Team.

This is one of the most anticipated brackets each year, and this year was no exception. The surge in quality of varieties such as fiano and chenin blanc (the latter coming out on top three years in a row) in such a short period of time begs belief. These are varieties that may very well require their own categories next year but, for now, they make up the bones here.

Before you dive into this exhaustive list, you can check out the current winner of our Other Whites and Bends of the Year award – the 2023 Kroos Chenin Blanc from tripe.Iscariot.

2026 Other Whites and Blends of the Year

tripe.Iscariot Kroos Chenin Blanc 2023, Margaret River

98 points (PD*) | Price when tasted $42


MMAD Vineyard Blewitt Springs Chenin Blanc 2022, McLaren Vale

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Oh how I’ve missed Kroos, as Remi Guise didn’t make a ‘21 and ’22 because the fruit wasn’t to his exacting standards. Well hello ’23 and welcome back. This is a classy, complex yet delicious chenin blanc. It has the tantalising and distinct lemon-ginger infusion flavour with red apples, quince and an oyster shell brininess. The palate has texture, with the creamiest lees, yet everything reined-in by pure, exhilarating acidity. A cracking wine. – Jane Faulkner

Learn more about chenin blanc.

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The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide at all good bookstores.

This is an edited extract from the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Katrina Butler, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale and Toni Paterson MW. Cover art by James Coe.

*Panel decision – score awarded by the Halliday Tasting Team at the annual Awards judging.


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