Helm Wines Classic Dry Riesling 2026

Fifty years ago, a CSIRO insect ecologist was transferred to Canberra and with fellow scientists decided to plant some grapes. The rest is history, they became the wine pioneers of the region. In his 50th vintage, Ken Helm continues to excel – the man is indefatigable – with another ripper of a Riesling – dry, pure, linear, varietally intense and oh so complex. Light yellow with green tinges. A haunting fragrance of citrus blossom, hints of jasmine and awash in citrus and apple scents, lime peel, mandarin skin.  A striking acidity drives the wine with line and length guiding crunchy green apple and citrus with a lime cordial-like intensity, lime peel, a hint of ginger and light aromatic florals. It presents lifted and intense with a growing textural quality coming through. Will age beautifully, maybe 50 years! That would be fitting.

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic