2026 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling Half Bottle 375ml, Clare Valley

This is soft and pretty, juicy, plush, lingering with blossom and sweet stone fruit notes, wild honey and a ginger element. It's hugely perfumed, interesting in its mix of toffee apple, more ginger and sniffs of white mushroom. Some pleasing, slick, palate-staining texture ups the ante. Gulpably delicious, and yet holds its form in quality wine stakes. Drink to 2032.

95 points & Special Value Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, September 2026

A most compelling sweet Clare Valley Riesling that has proven to be a consistent performer over the years. Mid-yellow with green edges. Candied fruits, dried apricot, orange peel, quince, lemon curd and creme brûlée aromas entice. Gloriously sweet to taste and well defined by clean, bright acidity – herein lies an impressive balance, to be sure.  A lingering depth of lime marmalade, quince and crystallised citrus and mango with cumquat rind fills the palate with hedonistic pleasure. Bring out the apple tart tatin and enjoy! Drink to 2032.

95 points Jeni Port for Wine Pilot, September 2026

Bright, light yellow colour with intense flowery and creamy yeasty aromas, waxy and honeyed. The flavour is intense and bright, complemented by generous sweetness and backed by seamless acidity. Utterly delicious wine already, but even better if you give it a year or two before you start to drink your bottles. Drink to 2038.

93 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, August 2026

Cordon Cut refers to the Australian invention which involves cutting the canes when the grapes are ripe, allowing the fruit to concentrate and raisin naturally on the vine. Mount Horrocks winemaker and owner Stephanie Toole is widely credited for establishing this unique and also risky practice, and her decisions on both the cutting and harvesting is based on appearance and taste.

Sweet yet fresh and lively, a small glass can be a dessert on its own, but this does pair well with citrus curd tarts. Our perennial  favourite is Christine Manfields’s Orange, Date and Cardamom Tart (originally in her book Paramount Desserts, but recipe should also be in her book Spice).

About this producer

Mount Horrocks is a Clare Valley producer of fine wines established in 1993 by its winemaker and owner Stephanie Toole.

Her nine hectares of vines are farmed with certified organic and biodynamic practices, with each wine a single vineyard wine from one of her three sites: the dry Riesling, Semillon, Nero d’Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon from her largest one in central Watervale, Shiraz from the Alexander vineyard at 475 metres elevation in the extreme north-eastern corner of Watervale and finally her sweet, Cordon Cut Riesling from Auburn, a warmer site at lower elevations.

Stephanie’s hands-on approach extends into every aspect of the business, and what really defines her work is her extraordinarily detailed attention to viticulture. Hers really are wines made in the vineyard with low-intervention work at the winery.