2024 Polish Hill River Riesling

Pale straw with green hues.

Lifted aromas of perfume, musk, wet slate, citrus blossoms, crushed oyster shells.

Intense and elegant on the palate, with very fine structure. Mid-palate fruit richness, balanced by taut acid and a graceful, lingering finish.

We love to enjoy this Riesling while fresh, however it also has excellent cellaring potential - up to 20 years.

Despite growing these vines organically since their planting in the 1970s, 2010 marked the first year of NASAA Organic Certification for these vineyards. Martin and Joan Smith and Molloy's vineyards are virtually next to each other in Polish Hill River and consistently produce top quality fruit which highlights the excellence of this sub-region of the Clare Valley. Grey loam acid soils over sandstone and slate make up the profile with much of the top soil littered with rock, proving just how tough the vines need to be to sustain growth and produce quality fruit. It is the slate of Polish Hill River, as opposed to the limestone of Watervale, that gives rise to the point of difference between these styles.

Fruit is harvested in the cool of night, de-stemmed, crushed and gently pressed. This results in a fine free-run cut and a pressings component, with all batches kept separately in stainless steel tanks. The free-run juice is chilled to preserve the vineyard expression and purity of fruit. Once the juice has settled it is racked off solids and seeded with yeast. A cool, temperature controlled fermentation is carried out over 10-14 days. The wine is then chilled and filtered prior to bottling.  

Alcohol - 11.7%

pH - 2.94

Acidity - 7.5g/L

97 Points- Winepilot

"The twin to the Watervale, this Polish Hill River Riesling, from the same stellar vintage, is spectacular stuff and brilliant buying.Trout stream clear, this is all riverstones, talc, florals, limes, spices, oystershell notes, lemon blossoms and grapefruit pith. Good intensity and a lingering, extremely long, finish, but along the way, impeccable balance and crunchy acidity. A Riesling for the ages. Twenty plus years. Cellar as much as your cellar can hold." - Ken Gargett

95 Points- Winepilot

"The opposite in personality to Watervale Riesling, Polish Hill is all about Riesling energy and exuberance. Organically grown, for those wondering, Polish Hill arrives all bright and perky but underneath the citrussy exterior there is great concentration of fruit flavour. A drinker could get lost in the depths of that gorgeous middle palate such is the appeal of spiced apple with grapefruit, lemon, lime and citrus zest. Polish Hill offers a mix of spice and citrus all rolled tightly into one super perky, fresh, young Riesling. Another ripper from this top Clare Valley sub-region." - Jeni Port

95 Points - QWine Reviews

"This excellent Polish Hill River Riesling from O'Leary Walker is always a consistently high performer. The quality of Riesling in Australia is awesome and you ought to get this label on your radar. Sourced from an organic vineyard, pretty white flowers, musk and lavender, lemon-lime splice isn't far from the dancefloor either. A seductive and detailed minerally vibe ripples through the mid-palate stitching it together. Green apples, apple sours, a whisper of grapefruit and not to mention that glorious citrusy and pithy tang that clutches to a long and fabulous finish, this is classy stuff and I could neck gallons of it. Drink now to embrace its freshness but it will age gracefully if that is your thing." - Steve Leszczynski

94 Points - The Wine Front

This is classic Polish Hill River Riesling with restraint as part of its armoury. It has a stony, pebbly side to the essential drive of citrus, though hay and nashi pear characters are also set within. Savouriness gets a good run here. Length is very good, so too overall character." - Campbell Mattinson

93 Points- The Real Review

Really youthful, bright and lively in appearance. Delicate and lifted aromas of lime leaf, lemon pith, slate, mineral and bath salts. Fine and focused in flavour, there’s a core of just-ripe, pithy white stone-fruit, mandarin, grapefruit pith and talc. Quite generous and mouth-filling, with plenty of flesh and texture" - Aaron Brasher 

Silver - 2024 Clare Valley Wine Show