2024 Forest Hill Block 1 Riesling, Mount Barker

From the old vines, planted in '65. Such a serious and seriously delicious wine. Compact and energetic, tightly wound with green apple, lime, pink grapefruit, pumice stone minerality, faint ginger and green almond notes. It's racy but has impeccable pucker and tightness in texture, too. Brilliant length. Crystalline texture. Big volume of pretty perfume, citrus blossom floral, citrus fruit, some saline-nutty elements, dashes of bath salts. Sheesh, this is such a brilliant wine.

96 points Special Value Mike Bennie Halliday Wine Companion Nov 2025

Forest Hill Vineyard holds a special place in Western Australian wine history. Its first vines were planted at Mount Barker in 1965, making it the oldest cool climate vineyard in the Great Southern. Block 1 is the original Riesling planting from that pioneering year, and those old vines now produce one of the estate’s most important wines. There is genuine history in the bottle here, not something dreamed up by the marketing department last Tuesday.

Mount Barker’s elevation, cool nights and long growing season are ideal for Riesling, while Block 1’s mature vines bring concentration without sacrificing delicacy. The 2024 vintage produced beautifully focused Great Southern whites, and this sits firmly in the dry, tightly wound camp. There is plenty of fruit, but citrus, acidity and stony detail are the real drivers, suggesting a long and interesting future ahead.

Very pale straw with green flashes. Lime zest, green apple and grapefruit lead into white peach and lemon blossom, with lemongrass and a little fresh ginger adding lift. Crushed stone and a faint smoky note appear as it opens. The palate is taut and energetic, with lime and grapefruit riding a fine line of acidity. Green apple and white peach provide just enough flesh before wet stone, citrus peel and a subtle saline note stretch out the dry finish.

Kingfish sashimi with ponzu and finger lime is right in the zone, while steamed snapper with ginger, Thai prawn salad, salt and pepper squid or crispy tofu with sesame and chilli all make sense. Our pick is the kingfish, keeping everything cool, clean and citrusy alongside those old vine flavours.

Cellaring: Drink now for its youthful bite or cellar to 2040.