Barry Weinman | October 2025
The original Duke vineyards were planted in 1999 with an initial 9 hectares under vine. Since Ben Cane and Sarah Date purchased the operation in 2022, there have been significant efforts being put into the vineyard to improve quality. For example, they have embarked on a project to completely revise the trellising system, starting with Riesling and working through the vineyard.
This has resulted in significantly smaller grape bunches (of high quality), with yields maintained due to the increase in the number of bunches per vine.
REVIEWS*
* Please note that the wines were not tasted blind, so the points are indicative.
Duke’s Magpie Hill Riesling 2022
Perfumed, but this is also about minerality and structure, along with the pristine fruit. The mouthfeel and texture are superb. There is an almost creamy texture which is most appealing. The length and persistence and sheer presence are quite stunning.
96 points
Duke’s Magpie Hill Riesling 2023
First vintage where Ben had complete control. This is a touch more rounded and fleshier, presenting quite differently to the 2022. More approachable and great drinking now. Barrel ferment for 10% contribute to the texture.
95 points
Duke’s Magpie Hill Riesling 2024
There seems to be a step up in intensity on the nose, and there is a purity to the fruit here that elevates the palate. Lime, florals and fragrant talc all come to mind. Behind this, there is intrinsic power and intensity and scintillating acidity. A great effort.
96 points | $45
Duke’s Magpie Hill Riesling 2025
If anything, this is even better than the 2024. There is a step up in perfume with this wine. The floral characters are spectacular, with jasmine and sherbet highlights. The palate is seamless and silky, the acid invisible and the phenolics an invisible accompaniment to the fruit adding mouthfeel and texture. This has echoes of Polish Hill and is just as impressive. With air, this gets even more perfumed and is quite spectacular.
97 points | $48
Duke’s Margaret River Chardonnay 2023
Fruit from the Victory Point vineyard. This has lovely fruit, where the aromatics have been turned down, while the texture is a highlight, with subtle minerality running across the palate. There is a deliberate focus on cellarbility, and this is demonstrated when the wine gets some air. The ripe, white/donut peach-like fruit really builds. Hand-picked. Bunch pressed to barrel undergoing wild ferment and partial malolactic fermentation. The wine was oak aged (30% new 300L Mercury barrels).
95+ points | $66
Duke’s Magpie Hill Reserve Shiraz 2022
Perfumed and pretty. Pepper? Yes, but there is so much more here. Fine, elegant and yet intense and powerful. Plum, tar, cherry, spice, texture to the max. The power really builds as this sits in the glass. Cool climate. Fantastic wine. Great intensity and power. But the purity is what makes this special. So, so pretty and fine. 50% new oak.
96 points | $46
Duke’s The Whole Bunch Shiraz 2022
While two-thirds of the fruit for this wine underwent whole bunch fermentation, this defies expectation as there are none of the carbonic maturation characters that I would have expected with such a high level of whole-bunch. The depth and texture here are a highlight. The fruit was kept chilled for 3 days on dry ice prior to fermentation, apparently to aid tannin maturation and the resulting wine was oak aged (30% new). Great fruit. Fantastic tannin management. Such an approachable wine that will provide great drinking pleasure over the next 5 years.
$66
Duke’s Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet 2022
Wonderful perfume. Blueberry, violet, perfume. Supple, textured and very fine. This is perfectly ripe, but very cool climate. The tannins are incredibly fine, the oak invisible. The length of flavours is outstanding, as is the persistence. This must surely be one of the finest cool climate Cabernets in Australia.
96+ points | $46
Duke’s Magpie Hill Reserve Cabernet 2023
More intense and almost pungent, with very cool climate Cabernet fruit characters. A clone of Cab from the Barossa. Early ripening. A powerful, dense, textured wine that needs a decade or more to reach its drinking window.
Duke’s The First Cab Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
Houghton clone, from the original Forest Hill research station plantings. I like this just as much as the Magpie Hill, though it is very different. The fruit is fleshier and more opulent, and if anything, more impressive. The mouthfeel and texture are quite spectacular. So, so impressive.
97 points | $66