2024-varietal-winners

Top Rated: Riesling

By The Tasting Team

So much for retirement. Neil ‘limefinger’ Pike is renowned as a master of Clare Valley riesling, but his legend should be even better known than it is. He’s a master of both the Watervale and Polish Hill River sub-regions, the latter – part of Pike’s ‘retirement project’ – responsible for this year’s Riesling of the Year. Interestingly, at this year’s blind judging ATR Chockstone Grampians Riesling 2022 (not listed below but top rated for its region) was neck-and-neck with the limefinger after the first round of judging, which says a lot about the quality of the Chockstone, and even more about how fortunate we are to have so many great Australian riesling regions.

2024 Riesling of the Year

limefinger Solace Riesling 2022, Clare Valley

98 points (PD*) | Price when tasted $38


limefinger Solace Riesling 2022, Clare Valley

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Neil Pike's Polish Hill River expression. So scintillating, so pure, so much energy, so minerally. Scents of lime (of course), pink grapefruit and honeysuckle with a whiff of warm slate. The palate is compact, racy and very long. More of those lime characters, tightly bundled with an incredible brine-meets-granite mineral character that races through the wine, extending it on lacy threads to infinity. Immense drive. It's a superb riesling. – Mike Bennie

The 2024 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide here – and at all good bookstores.

Learn more about riesling.

This is an edited extract from the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by James Halliday, Campbell Mattinson, Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Mike Bennie, Ned Goodwin MW, Philip Rich and Shanteh Wale. Cover art by Ka Mo.

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


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