Reviews of our Whites

THE PREMIUM RIESLING

• Gold Winewise Aug 2006
• Top 40 NSW wines and runner up to Best young white and best NSW wine.
• Silver Southern NSW Wagga 2006 Cl 22.
• Bronze Royal Melbourne 2006 Cl 11.
• Bronze Cool Climate Wine Show 2006 Class 1

A very distinctive and well crafted Riesling showing Mosel-like steeliness and slate. It's still showing some youthful yeastiness, but this is a particularly elegant wine that will bottle- age well.

Winewise August 2006 GOLD medal

The 2006 looks to be one of his best. It's a bright looking wine with an intense, pungent, varietal nose of tightly focused varietal purity. There's some exotic spice to it, and touches of pear, lime zest and delicate floral nuances. The refined palate has a bracing balance between spicy varietal fruit, dry mineral complexity and lip-smacking acidity. 5/5 Stars

Ralph Kyte Powell The Age Wine of Week November 28 2006

Premium Riesling 2005

• Trophies /show awards: 6 Trophies, 4 Gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze
• Winewise 2007 Trophy best Riesling,
• Champion Wine of Show, Best Riesling, Best White - Cool Climate Wine Show 2005
• Best White of Show, Best Riesling - CanberraRegional Wine Show 2005
• Gold Winewise Cl 2 2007
• Gold Cool Climate Wine Show Cl 1 2005
• Gold Canberra Regional Wine Show cl 1
• Silver Australian Small Winemakers Cl 1 2005,
• Bronze Griffith Wine Show Cl 1 2005,
• Bronze National Riesling Challenge Cl 1 2005,
• Silver (top 5 2005 Rieslings) Winewise August 2006
• Gold Canberra Regional Wine Show 2006 Cl 5
• Halliday 2006 93 points

Ken Helm's been talking the Riesling talk for decades. Now, deservedly, he's walking the walk with this stunningly good wine. This is a wine with a seriously long future: it has the classic citrus and mineral aromatics and taut, intense steely-yet-delicate palate of a classic Riesling. This is a very significant achievement for Ken and a very significant wine for the Canberra District.
Chris Shanahan Canberra Times September 18 2005

Number 4 in the Top 5 Rieslings 2005 reviewed.
Winewise August 2005

Two new Rieslings are now available from Helm Wines the Helm Premium Riesling 2005 and the Helm Classic dry Riesling 2005. The Premium is a single vineyard wine with an aromatic and floral nose, finely textured flintily palate and a fresh, soft citric finish. The Classic Dry has an orange blossom nose with citric and tropical fruit flavours. According to Ken Helm the 2005 vintage in the Canberra District was one of the best in the last 30 years.
Liquorwatch, June 2005

Brilliant pale straw in colour. Subtle tight and elegant. A young wine exhibiting fresh crisp marked yet soft acidity. Coupled with delicately balanced pure fruit flavours. A light dry style with an extended length. Steely, minerally yet delicately floral and some ripe tropical fruit there as well.
Perfect with all seafood. Cellaring should hold for at least 7-10 years.
An infant wine with a very promising future.
Priced as one would expect at around $30 plus dollars.
Paul Ippolito talks Classic Dry Riesling 2005

Premium Riesling 2004

• Silver Hyatt National Riesling Challenge 2004 ( Runner up to Best Canberra Riesling Trophy winner.)
• Bronze Canberra Regional Show 2004 (top of class)
• *** stars Helm Premium Riesling 2004 Winestate Special Edition 2004

Premium Riesling 2004 Slightly more concentrated and longer palate than the classic; lingering finish. Screwcap Rating 90
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2006

A new reserve bottling from Helms Canberra region vineyard with a black label. Its very fine and searingly intense, lean and dry yet smooth and not too austere. Aromas of lemon curd and fresh lemon juice tally with zappy acidity in a cool area style. Best 2006 to 2012+.
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald Nov 2 2004

Ken Helm, a driving force behind Canberras National Riesling Challenge, recently released his own two expressions of this great variety from the 2004 vintage...The Premium delivers big on aromatics with intense but more delicate grape-fruit like flavour and fine, lingering finish - a wine destined to age well for a decade or more.
Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times Oct 3 2004

THE CLASSIC DRY RIESLING

Helm Riesling Classic Dry 2007

• Trophy and Gold Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show Cl 1 Sept 2007
• Gold (Top) Royal Melbourne Wine Show Cl 11 Aug 2007
• Silver Cowra Wine Show July 2007 Cl 40
• Silver Canberra Regional Wine Show Cl 1 2007
• Bronze Winewise July 2007
• 4 stars Winestate Riesling Special Edition October 2007
  

"a ripper - winner of bronze, silver and gold medals in Winewise, Cowra, and Melbourne shows respectively. It has brilliant, green- tinted pale lemon colour and tremendous volume of ripe varietal aroma and flavour - more than you usually see in Riesling this young. But the flavour volume doesn't come at the expense of freshness. This is as crisp and youthful as they come."

Chris Shanahan Canberra Times Sept 2 2007

Helm Riesling Classic Dry 2006

• Bronze Winewise Cl 1 2007
• Silver Sydney Royal Wine CL 25 Feb 2007 (in top 6 wines)
• Silver Winewise Cl 1 Aug 2006 ( in top 3 wines)
• Bronze Hyatt International Riesling Challenge 2006 Cl1 Oct 2006
• Bronze Royal Melbourne 2006 Cl 11 (in top 8 wines).

Shows lemon-lime characteristics and is already quite full flavoured. It's quite lively and lifted on the palate now, but will come forward more quickly than the Premium Riesling.
Winewise August 2006 SILVER medal

The softer, slightly sweeter Classic Dry has a strong drink now appeal.
Chris Shanahan Canberra SundayTimes August 20 2006

The 2006 Helm Riesling is bright and full of lovely lime and floral aromas. The palate is all green apple and fresh lime. There's plenty of concentration on the palate, too, and just enough cleansing acidity to finish. Rating 4 / 5

Fergus McGhie Canberra Times July 19 2006

Helm Riesling Classic Dry 2005

Awards:

• Bronze Royal Melbourne 2005 Cl 11
• Bronze Royal Adelaide Wine Show October 2005 Cl 3
• Bronze Riverina Wine Show September 2005 Cl 1
• Bronze Hyatt National Riesling Challenge October 2005 Cl 1
• Bronze Australian Small Winemakers 2005 October Cl 1
• Bronze Sydney Royal Cl 25 2006

Lovely, flowery crisp bouquet. Delicious apple - crisp taste. Perfectly balanced and just what a light alcohol, dry Riesling should be - maybe a touch like a Nahe trocken.
It is a text book Riesling and just what this great variety should be doing.
Serena Sutcliffe MW , Wine Director Sotheby's London March 2006

Value $$$ A wine with a price tag that makes it a steal.
Helms Canberra district vineyard is an excellent source of Riesling, Theres this standard wine and a black-label Premium priced at $33. Both the 2005s are outstanding. This version has lifted floral aromas with lime zest and minerals. The palate has mouth- watering succulence, with good backbone and structure.
Rating ***** A superb example, a near perfect wine of great character, worthy of the big occasion and the best company.
Ageing: Drink over six years plus.
Food Ideas: Pan fried whiting.
Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age Epicure uncorked July 12 2005

Ken Helm, the instigator of the National Riesling Challenge, has always been the Pied Piper when it comes to leading the nations wine drinkers toward this wonderful aromatic variety. So it was with great pleasure that I tried the latest release of his Riesling, bottled just few weeks ago. It was fresh as a Canberra frost and full of potential. Newly bottled wines usually look a little dumb shortly after bottling as they suffer whats known as bottle shock. The only bottle shock showing with the Helm Riesling was my own. Its full powerful flavours of green apple, guava, and lime leapt from the glass supported by fine lip-puckering acidity. Nothing delicate here, just full-blown Riesling made by one of the regions best proponents a wine to challenge the belief that all good Riesling comes from South Australia.
Fegus McGhie , Canberra Times June 14 2005

Ken Helm's Rieslings have been consistently good for decades and subtly improving over time thanks to maturing vines, increasing attention to selection and improvements in winemaking techniques. Ken attributes some of this to Canberras Riesling Challenge workshops and advice provided, pro bono, by distinguished winemaker judges like Brent Marris and Louisa Rose. The 2005 vintage sees a significant lift in fruit intensity over 2004, thanks to a benign season and tight fruit selection. The Classic Dry is more upfront and the Premium a little paler in colour with intense fruit and steely mineral acid backbone. As a quibble, I'd like to see the wines just a tad riper but these are still two very fine drops.
Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times June 26 2005

Riesling Classic Dry 2004

• Silver Hyatt National Riesling Challenge 2004
• Bronze Canberra Regional Wine Show 2004

Classic Dry Riesling 2004 Clean, minerally aromas; light - medium lime and passionfruit; good length and aftertaste. Screwcap Rating 89
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2006

Canberras Ken Helm has won more than 50 wards for his Riesling since he made his first in 1977. This is expensive for the variety but it is the result of rigorous grape selection and continuous sampling which resulted only 500 litres per tonne of free run juice finishing in the bottle. A truly stylish classy Riesling showing fragrant aromas of lime and passionfruit with significant fruit weight on the palate. There is good depth of flavour and plenty of length on the finish.
Jeff Collerson, Daily Telegraph Sept 22 2004

Ken Helm, a driving force behind Canberras National Riesling Challenge, recently released his own two expressions of this great variety from the 2004 vintage. The Riesling Classic Dry delivers volumes of Rieslings floral and citrus aroma and a big, juicy, dry and refreshing palate to match.
Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times Oct 3 2004

Riesling Classic Dry 2003

Awards

• Gold Canberra Regional Wine Show cl 1 2003
• Silver Adelaide Wine Show cl 54 2003
• Silver Cool Climate Wine Show cl 1 2003
• Bronze National Wine Show cl 1 2003
• Bronze Rutherglen Wine Show cl 2 2003
• ***1/2 stars Winestate May/June 2004

Elegant and aromatic; clean; plenty of expression; lime and mineral; good finish. Screwcap Rating 91
James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2006

Ken Helm is a winemaker spreading the word to all who will listen and even those who wont: Canberra region excels at Riesling. His 2003 classic dry is fantastic, limy with just the right lick of acid. Ken can rest his tonsils - this Riesling does its own spruiking.
Greg Duncan Powell, Sydney Morning Herald February 28 -29 2004

Possibly, the best Riesling yet from Canberras irrepressible Ken Helm. It has bright, fresh minerally aroma with hints of bread-dough, while the taste is very intense yet delicate, refined and tangy. Its powerful, pristine varietal fruit is preserved by a screw cap.
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald February Jan 13 2004

Pick of crop
NSW Tourism Food and Wine Advisory Committee
Top 5 White wines of NSW - Helm Riesling rated number 1
Robert Geddes MW, The Sunday Telegraph November 16 2003

The delicacy and finesse of Helms latest Riesling will go a long way when it comes to roping in new fans.
John Fordham, The Sunday Telegraph November 9 2003

Among Ken Helms new releases the screw cap sealed Riesling is outstanding. Low in alcohol but big in flavour and crisp, firm acid, the wine shows yet again Rieslings potential in Canberra.
Chris Shanahan , Canberra Times September 7 2003

Helm Classic Dry. A well made Riesling which offers delicate stone fruit aromas and strong varietal flavour. The acid is crisp and clean.
RECOMMENDED , Winewise Vol 19 No 5 December 2003

Bright straw-green; the floral bouquet has a mixed lime, spice, blossom and mineral, the palate with very good balance and mouthfeel thanks to sweet fruit on the middle palate followed by a dry finish.
Halliday Winepros September 2002 rating 92/100

Finely perfumed and floral, scented with pear and apple, this delicate and shapely young Riesling reveals some juicy weight of flavour before finishing long and silky.
Jeremy Oliver On Wine December 2002 rating 17.7/20

Canberra is a cooler place to grow grapes and it shows in this Riesling. There is a slightly Germanicaccent in it's aromatic, spice and lime-zest characters, but it has Australian richness. Flavour is long and succulent with intense citrus flavours and fragrant finish.
Ralph Kyte-Powell Sunday Life SunHerald February 9 2003

Riesling Classic Dry 2001

The 2001 Riesling delivers big volumes of floral/lime aromas and flavour. While ripe, the palate shows freshness, delicacy and fine acid backbone appropriate to the style.
Chris Shanahan, Canberra Times October 2001

Helm Riesling Classic Dry 2001 is good follow up to the delicious 2000 and offers baked lime,papaya and white floral notes leading to a juicy, pulpy, almost Germanic mouth feel.
Robert Walker, The Australian Review of Wines May 2002

Riesling 2000 (9.5% alcohol)

Ken Helm's 2000 Riesling shows that an old dog can learn new tricks. Inspired by a visit to the Mosel Valley Germany, he decided to pick his 2000 Riesling three weeks earlier with an alcohol of less than 10 degrees - it was a gamble that paid off.
James Halliday, Weekend Australian October 2000

The 2000 vintage sees the wine back on track after frost wiped out the 1999. Pale coloured, it has ashy, restrained but pristine, authentic Riesling aroma. The palate is creamy smooth and fine with a hint of sweetness among lemon/lime, peach and subtle tropical flavours.
Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald November 2000

Earlier vintages