97 points - "The best of the best stand up in challenging times and Neil Pike reigns supreme from a frost-impacted 2025. Down on volume but the quality remains sky high, this is brilliance in a bottle. I walked these rows in January. The impact of frost was telling, not to mention the severe lack of water in the region. The bunches were tiny but with Magic Hands Pike at the wheel, rest assured you’re on the right bus. Down 80% on previous vintages, only 780 bottles were produced from Pike’s Polish Hill site which sits a steady one wood from the Polish Hill River Church Museum. The focus and intensity of the fruit cannot be denied. Juicy limes are all the rage, crushed white petals, bath salts and a flash of musk. Chalky feels lay a solid foundation through the mouth with a green apple crunch, lime pith and Bickford’s lime cordial. The slately minerally soils tap away in the background, but just like the Learnings Watervale, there is an incredible delicacy and polish. Every element is in precise balance. Many Rieslings call for ice-cold throwbacks, but this asks you to pause, consider and savour every drop. Please do. For the challenges faced, this is sheer brilliance and delight all rolled into one." - Qwine Review (www.qwinereviews.com)

96 points - "A horrific frost wiped out around 80% of fruit in the Solace block. The result is that only 780 bottles of this wine were produced. Despite the difficult growing season, this is a wild success. It feels energetic, tense and racy, a slingshot of cumquat, tart lime, quartz-like mineral feel, slate and some flinty elements. A chalky pucker to texture lends a sense of structure; the finish is a trickle of peppery spice and briny minerality. A delicate wine, nervous and agile and hugely mouth-watering. Perhaps best drunk with youth on its side; a stellar riesling emerges from the glass right now." - Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "Juicy and intense. Lime, cape gooseberry, green mango, some floral perfume. Lots of flinty bits and stony grip, mouth-watering, crunchy and long to close with a twist of tonic and lime rind in the aftertaste. Such a refreshing and interesting expression of Riesling." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

“The Solace” Riesling is sourced from our own “Home Block” right in the centre of Polish Hill River (PHR) at 440m elevation. The vines were planted on their own roots in 1994 on red/brown loam over broken red/blue slate and yellow clay. Typical PHR.


Given time the fruit begins to uncoil itself from around the spine of acid and talc-like texture to reveal the beautiful lemon/lime characters that are often hidden early on. Left to age in the cellar for 7-10 years the gorgeous lemon butter aged characteristics of PHR Riesling will emerge.


Making wine from this block for almost thirty years has been a privilege. With more time on my hands these days, I have been able to find a place of peace and Solace in the pruning, growing and picking of the grapes from this lovely little patch of heaven.