Robert Parker | 95+ Points Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling 2022

In a major coup for global wine media, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate poached Erin Larkin from Halliday’s Wine Companion. We are thrilled that Erin took the time to taste several Duke’s Vineyard wines and awarded 95+ points to our Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling 2022. We've compiled a round-up below of Erin's recent reviews. 

95+ points, Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling 2022
Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
This 2022 Magpie Hill Reserve Riesling is the first under new ownership, and it leads with a distinctly different nose than usual. It's challenging to pin down, but here goes: in place of the pristine white flowers and talc that is expected, there is swirling ash/embers, straw/hay, bison grass and graphite/bitumen and a pronounced petrichor/ozone character leads the charge. Behind it are pencil shavings, Dispirin (aspirin), the crackle of summer grass and oxalis. It's salty and mineral, gray and rocky, austere and sleek. Whether it's the season or not, this is a change in style for the Magpie Hill Reserve. Very different indeed. Drink 2022-2037.

95 points, Single Vineyard Riesling 2022
Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2022 Single Vineyard Riesling is typically tightly coiled and floral on the nose, with jasmine, apple blossom and talc aplenty. in the mouth, the springy Porongurup acidity is perhaps more obviously wired into the fruit than usual, giving this 2022 a gently austere inflection in the mouth. Ever the beauty. Drink 2022 - 2037.

94 points, Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2021 Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is from the same vineyard as the Single Vineyard Cabernet, but it is a step up in concentration of fruit and also oak. Here, there is dark chocolate and star anise to add to the core of delicate/pure black and purple fruit. This is a beautiful wine, slightly lower in alcohol than the Single Vineyard Cabernet, but more oomph and thrust of purpose. Really beautiful. Gently chewy. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2023 - 2040.

91 points, Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Erin Larkin, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2021 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is lushly fruited, with a pure core of fruit. The concentration here is not as pronounced or inky as some previous vintages, yet it is a lovely wine of poise and place. Fine, chalky tannins shape the finish. Drink 2023 - 2033.

Duke's Vineyard is in Porongurup in the Great Southern and was established by the adventurous, charming and far-seeing Duke Ranson in 1999. He planted the vines in his sixth decade—an undertaking few would consider wise or sensible. The estate blossomed into a bastion of cool-climate precision under his stewardship and the winemaking of Rob Diletti. In 2022, Duke and his wife, Hilde, finally hung up the boots and retired, selling the property to Ben Cane and his partner, Sarah Date. Ben is a winemaker and continues the work of Duke here in Porongurup. — Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate