The Canberra International Riesling Challenge is one of the most important and respected wine shows in Australia for one simple reason — it is dedicated entirely to a single grape variety. No distractions, no politics, no generous categories. Just Riesling, judged by people who know it better than almost anyone.

When you score 95 points at this show, it means something. When you score it twice in the same vintage, with two different expressions of the same estate — that says everything about the quality of the fruit coming off our Watervale vineyard and the skill of the person making it.

What is an Elite medal?

The Canberra International Riesling Challenge awards medals in tiers: Commended, Premium, Elite, and the rarely awarded Trophy. An Elite medal requires a score of 95 or above — placing a wine in the top tier of Australian and international Riesling. It is not a participation award. It is a genuine statement about wine quality at the highest level.

To put our result in context — out of more than 50 Clare Valley Rieslings entered in the 2025 current vintage class, only a handful achieved Elite status. Our Estate Riesling and Hilltop Riesling were among them, scoring 95 alongside wines from some of the most established names in the region.

How Crabtree compared to the rest of Clare Valley.

Here's how the top Clare Valley performers stacked up in the 2025 current vintage class. The company we kept tells its own story:

Two wines. Two stories. Both 95 points.

What makes this result particularly significant is that our two Elite medals came from two distinctly different expressions of our estate vineyard — and both scored identically.

The Estate Riesling is our flagship — the wine that most directly captures the classic Watervale style. Bright lime juice, pure fruit, and the beautiful fresh acidity that Watervale is famous for. It's the wine we point to when someone asks what Crabtree is about.

The Hilltop Riesling comes from our highest estate block, planted at greater elevation. It's tighter, more restrained, more mineral — built to age. Where the Estate Riesling sings immediately, the Hilltop needs time. The fact that both scored 95 in the same vintage speaks to the consistency of our vineyard and the calibre of winemaking across the full range.

Andrew Kenny. The person who made this happen.

Results like these don't happen by accident. Every wine Crabtree makes is the work of Andrew Kenny — trained by Neil Pike at Pikes Wines, Dux of the AWRI's Advanced Wine Assessment Course in 2021, Clare Valley Hall of Fame Rising Star, and winner of The Vigneron Award at the 18th Annual Young Gun of Wine Awards.

Andrew's philosophy is simple: understand the vineyard completely, then intervene as little as possible. The Watervale Estate Riesling's pure lime and fresh acidity isn't manufactured in the winery — it's the natural expression of this specific piece of land, coaxed out by someone who understands exactly when to step back and let the fruit speak.

Two Elite medals in the same vintage is the kind of result that confirms what we already knew: we have one of the most talented winemakers in Clare Valley making our wines. Now the country's most respected Riesling show agrees.

What this means for Vintage 2026.

These results are from the 2025 vintage — wines made from fruit harvested in the early months of 2025. Vintage 2026 has just been completed at Crabtree, with Andrew at the helm across another carefully managed harvest.

Based on what we saw in the vineyard — the fruit quality, the ripeness, the conditions — we believe 2026 has every chance of being the best vintage Crabtree has ever produced. The 2025 Rieslings will be available now, and we'll be announcing 2026 releases as they become ready.

If you'd like to be the first to know when new releases drop, join the Crabtree Wine Club — members get first access, member pricing, and free shipping on all orders.

Results sourced from the official 2025 Canberra International Riesling Challenge results publication, rieslingchallenge.com