2022 Dukes K2 Riesling, Porongurup

A hyper-intense fragrant bouquet, lifted dried wildflowers, lemon pith, dry straw and dried herb aromas. The wine is tremendously intense and delicate at the same moment; a wonderful mouthful of riesling, scintillating freshness and intensity delivered with harmony and great persistence. Mouth-waterting acidity and tremendous poise. Drink 2024 to 2037.

97 Points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, August 2023

Now here is something special. There is more than a touch of Old World in this distinctive wine that delivers with panache. A portion was barrel fermented and extended lees contact added further texture. There’s a flinty edge here with distinctive bath salts.  This was a very tough vintage, with rain after some intense heat, yet with fastidious vineyard work the result has been outstanding. It’s a Riesling with a difference and well worth checking. Drink 2023 to 2041.

96 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, December 2023

The 2022 Halo Range K2 Riesling marks the first time (to my knowledge) that there has ever been an inclusion of oak in the maturation of any Riesling at this estate. While it is evident on the nose, it comes in the form of cold buttered toast, honeysuckle, beeswax, lanolin, peach fuzz, dried lavender and a lime pickle (with mustard seed and lime rind in profusion) character. In the mouth, the flavors are as the nose has promised, punctuated by searing acidity (a pH of 2.9 and total acidity of 8.2 grams per liter) that whistles across the tongue like wind through a keyhole. It is coiled, but it has breadth and richness too. This is a good move for this tiny region, an oak-matured Riesling. I've been begging producers for something like this for years. This is the first but hopefully not the last. I look forward to seeing it again in five years. Drink 2023 to 2037.

95+ points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, December 2023

Some of the wine is barrel fermented in matured oak; aged on lees. It's a great textural experience, a more mellow expression of Porongurup riesling, intriguing in its slippery glide of fruit, gentle yeasty savoury elements and faint floral and spice notes. It feels complex and generous but held well in its crispish outer edges of texture. Lots of Meyer lemon, candied ginger, lemongrass, red apple and grapefruit here. Very elegant, is the other message, just so in its gentle but precise nature. This is one for big glasses and contemplation. Drink 2024 to 2032.

95 points Mike Bennie for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2024

Attractive grapefruit, citrus peel, wet stone, jasmine and rosemary aromas. It’s tangy and zesty, with a light to medium body. Racy and dry, even salty and savory, leading to a cool, pristine finish. Drink or hold.

94 points Claire Nesbitt for James Suckling, January 2025

Duke's Vineyard was planted in 1999 by founders Duke and Hilde Ranson on a ten-hectare site nestled against the ancient granite of the Porongurup Range in Western Australia's Great Southern — a landscape of towering rock formations and native forest that is as dramatic as it is remote. The 2017 Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling was the first white wine ever awarded 99 points by the Halliday Wine Companion and named their Australian Wine of the Year. Experienced winemaker Ben Cane and his partner Sarah Date purchased the property in 2022 and have continued the estate's remarkable standard without missing a beat.

The Porongurups rise abruptly from the surrounding farmland in a series of vast granite outcrops. The visually arresting landscape is viticulturally distinctive, with granitic sandy clay loams draining freely while retaining moisture. The cool climate and diurnal temperature variations extend the growing season and build the mineral tension and precise acidity that define Riesling from this site.

From the same exceptional Porongurup site as the Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling, the K2 is made with partial barrel fermentation in seasoned oak and extended lees contact — an approach with deep roots in Central Europe and Alsace, where the use of well-seasoned oak for Riesling is simply part of the tradition rather than a statement. The result is not an oaky wine in any conventional sense, but one with a savoury depth and textural complexity that sets it apart.

The 2022 was a challenging vintage yet fastidious vineyard work delivered a result of remarkable quality. The nose is fragrant with dried wildflowers, lemon pith, buttered toast, honeysuckle, beeswax and a flinty, saline mineral edge. The palate is simultaneously intense and delicate: Meyer lemon, candied ginger, lemongrass and red apple gliding across a mineral foundation, with searing acidity and a generous, textural breadth that carries through to a long, pristine finish.

Tremendously poised and would be a joy to have at the dinner table. Try with seared scallops with a light beurre blanc — the wine's texture, mineral salinity and savoury depth will find the dish a natural partner.

Drink now through mid-2030s.