2024 Vickery Polish Hill River Riesling, Clare Valley

Pale straw, bright in the glass and vibrant. There’s some really pretty and lifted aromas of bath salts, lemon pith, jasmine, wet slate and citrus drops. The palate is pithy, powerful, textured and mouth-filling, with lovely purity, line and presence. Lime, lemon and tangy grapefruit flavours are all at play and the acidity plays its role superbly, delivering snap, crunch and texture. Drink to 2040.

96 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, September 2025

Pale straw in the glass with a youthful flash of green and aromas of juicy, freshly squeezed limes, green apple and grapefruit with crushed stone, meadow flowers, citrus blossom, lemongrass and makrut lime. Sleek, with just a squeak of pithy texture, beautiful limey fruit, a long, dry, focused finish and a velocity and cadence that is perfectly composed. Drink to 2035.

95 points (Special Value) Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, January 2026

This, I believe, is winemaker Keeda Zilm’s first Polish Hill River Riesling under the Vickery label, and it’s a ripper of a wine. It’s stylish, spice-laden and super dry with that bright, slatey mineral character we so associate with Polish Hill River, a premier sub-region for Riesling in the Clare Valley. The fruit hails from Pauletts, so say no more. Lemon curd, citrus, five spice, nutmeg and apple sets the aroma alight. Spice runs deep and goes long on the palate accompanied by apple, citrus, a splash of musk florals and orange peel and just the lightest sense of savouriness. Minerally, saline acidity prevails, setting its sights – and the wine – on a long road ahead. What a complex wonder of a wine. Drink to 2036.

95 points Jeni Port for Wine Pilot, September 2025

Here’s a wine that celebrates and marks the contribution of the great John Vickery to Australian wine, particularly in the realm of Riesling, where he remains the acknowledged master. This is a wine of precision and fineness, with a degree of delicacy that can tend to mask the penetration and power that sits within. It was a terrific season in the Polish Hill River region, and this comes from a vineyard grown by the Paulett family. There’s purity, there’s a degree of tension, and there’s a beautiful minerality. On the palate, a fine, precise acidity cuts through the slightly textured mouthfeel, striking a perfect balance. There’s a little of that slightly wet pebble character that heightens the minerally mouthfeel. It’s a wine that is drinking so well now, but in keeping with the Vickery tradition, it could handle extended cellaring. Drink to 2043.

95 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, September 2025

The 2024 Polish Hill River Riesling is delicious. This is waxy, floral and chalky, with a profusion of sedate/restrained lemon barley and sandalwood notes and driven by fine, saline acidity. Everything about this wine shows completion and cohesion, a beautiful thing. This offers extraordinary value for money at under $28 AUD. Drink to 2034.

94 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, August 2021

There is no more famous name in Australian Riesling than that of John Vickery. Even though he has sadly left us, his work is carried on by Keeda Zilm. From the Polish Hill River sub-region, an unofficial sub-region even though it is very well known, in the Clare Valley, this is an extremely fine Riesling and one of which John himself would surely have been proud. A light lemon hue, the nose gives us notes of limes, blossoms, florals, spices, citrus and river stones. There is great length here with vibrant acidity running the full length of the journey. It gives the impression of a slightly crunchy finish. Excellent balance, the wine retains its elegance from start to finish, while ensuring there is serious underlying powerful. Enjoy this over the next twelve to fifteen years. Drink to 2040.

94 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, September 2025

The first ever Polish Hill River Riesling from the Vickery label, having for the previous 11 years released a Watervale sub-regional version from the Clare Valley (and another from the Eden Valley). This was sourced from a single site of 2004 plantings by the Paulett family and exudes all the character expected from the revered Riesling district. Pale with a light greenish tinge, overtly aromatic with fragrant white blossom and a faint mint-meets-licorice spice. Roast fennel bulb as well, before we see a more familiar set of varietal vibes in the palate: lemon, a subtle spearmint, with minerally and pithy acidity in total control. Supremely balanced, finessed and finely textured. It’s delicious.

94 points Tony Love for Wine Pilot, September 2025

Lightening in its energy, this is juicy lemons cut with a sword in slow motion, just like the food advertisements for refreshment. Some green apple skin and leaf, crab apples and Margarita limes. That energy is harnessed by a skerrick of fruit sweetness, which is intermingled with a bone dry, just slightly phenolic finish.  It’s full of vigor and wake you up, get you going vitality. Forget coffee, this is a party starter. Try it with cucumber and homemade tzatziki.

93 points Tony Love for Wine Pilot, September 2025

Polish Hill River is the spine of Clare Valley Riesling, and this wine carries the legacy of one of Australia’s great Riesling names. The Vickery label honours John Vickery, often called the godfather of Australian Riesling, whose career shaped the modern dry style in Clare and Eden Valleys. Today the wines are made under the guidance of the Oatley winemaking team, continuing Vickery’s philosophy of purity, line and longevity. The Polish Hill River subregion is cooler and more elevated than much of Clare, with rocky slate and shale soils that naturally produce tighter, more mineral wines.

Fruit is picked early to preserve piercing acidity and delicate aromatics. In the cellar the handling is intentionally minimal. Whole bunch pressing protects finesse, fermentation is cool and slow in stainless steel to lock in clarity, and there is no oak to distract from the vineyard. The result is a Riesling built on tension and precision rather than fruit sweetness.

Pale straw with green flashes, the aromas open with lime zest, lemon blossom and green apple layered with jasmine and crushed stone. The palate is light bodied but intense, with citrus fruit threaded through electric acidity. Flavours of lime, grapefruit and subtle slate notes stretch into a long, bone dry finish that feels crystalline and mouthwatering.

It pairs beautifully with oysters, sashimi, spicy Asian dishes and fresh salads. While thrilling in its youth, it will cellar confidently for twenty years or more, developing classic Clare Valley notes of toast and honey while retaining its acid backbone.

This is Polish Hill River Riesling at full definition, pure, mineral and built for decades.