2024 Kilikanoon Mort's Block Watervale Riesling, Clare Valley

Racy and mineral, showing aromas of lemon peel, lime leaves, grapefruit, slate and green apples. The light-bodied palate has a high-tension mouthfeel and tightly wound acidity. Very intense and focused with high aging capacity. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

94 points James Suckling

Mort's Block is where Kilikanoon began. When Kevin Mitchell founded the winery in 1997, this was one of his four founding wines — named for his father Mort, who planted the block in 1973 and tended these vines for decades. The vineyard sits in Watervale on red loamy topsoil over deep limestone, and those old, low-yielding vines give the wine a concentration and purity that the Killerman's Run simply can't match.

2024 was a cooler season in Clare, which suits Riesling particularly well — slower ripening, brighter natural acidity, a little more precision in the finish. The wine is clean and focused, with white florals, lime zest and a chalky mineral presence on the nose. The palate is taut and intense — lime juice and lime pith driving through the core with crystalline acidity and a long, mouthwatering finish. A wine that is very good now and will be genuinely excellent in five to ten years.

Fresh oysters, Thai-style whole fish, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, or sashimi. Also a fine match for spice — the acidity does the heavy lifting.

Drink now through 2034.