Awards and Reviews 🏆

94 Points – Ray Jordan
Ray highlights the use of only free run juice, calling out the wine’s purity and almost pristine character. He notes regional and varietal spiciness working alongside citrus and lemon peel, with a fine palate, real tension, deep Riesling intensity and a long, racy finish.

93 Points – Mike Bennie, Wine Companion
Mike describes it as a perfumed, pretty Riesling leaning into citrus blossom florals, concentrated lime juice, red apple freshness and pink grapefruit zest. He also praises the light chalkiness of the texture and calls it crystal clear and clearly delicious.

Tasting Notes 🍋

• Appearance
  Pale straw with green tinges and brilliant clarity.
• Aromatics
  The Reserve leads with pure, lifted citrus. Intense lemon and lime sit over citrus blossom, red apple and a subtle regional spice. There is a hint of wet stone and talc that gives a strong sense of place.
• Palate
  Concentrated yet finely etched. A full sweep of lemon and lime flavours runs through the palate, supported by grapefruit zest and crunchy red apple. The free run juice gives finesse and clarity, while the dry grown fruit adds depth and drive. A light chalky texture from the cool climate and ancient soils adds interest without weight.
• Finish
  Long, crisp and racy. The acid line is precise and mouth watering, carrying citrus and mineral notes well past the last sip.

Viticulture 🌱

• Region: Mount Barker, Great Southern, Western Australia

• Vineyard: 41 year old, 12 hectare dry grown estate vineyard

• Irrigation: None (dry grown)

• Soils: Ancient gravelly loams, ideal for fine, mineral Riesling

• Yields: Around 2 tonnes per hectare, with small bunches and berries

Old, unirrigated vines produce smaller berries with thicker skins, concentrating flavour and natural acidity. The cool climate of Mount Barker ensures slow ripening, building layered citrus flavour while retaining purity and freshness.

Vintage 2024

A dry start to the season led to one of the earliest vintages on record. Record temperatures and revolving heatwaves made ripening conditions tricky, but with careful vineyard management, quality remained high even as volumes dropped. The result for Riesling is low yielding, intensely flavoured fruit with powerful citrus character, firm acidity and real drive on the palate.

Winemaking 🍷

• Style: Reserve Riesling from 100 percent free run juice

• Juice selection: Only the purest free run portion is used to enhance finesse and clarity

• Fermentation: Cool fermentation in stainless steel to preserve aromatics and acid line

• Approach: Meticulous viticulture and winemaking aimed at expressing varietal character and a strong sense of place

• Balance: Built to be lively, well structured, age worthy and, above all, highly drinkable

Galafrey’s Riesling philosophy is all about chalk, mineral, lime and intensity, tuned to the vintage conditions each year. The Reserve bottling takes that up a notch by focusing only on the finest juice and the best parcels of fruit.

Technical

• Alcohol: 12 %

Serving and Cellaring ❄️

• Serving temperature: 6 to 9 degrees

• Drink: Fantastic now for its electric citrus and floral lift

• Cellaring: Has the structure and acidity to age beautifully for many years, developing honeyed, toasty and more complex mineral notes over time

Food Pairing Suggestions 🍽️

• Smoked salmon or ocean trout with lemon and dill

• Freshly caught whiting, lightly crumbed and pan fried

• Natural oysters or scallops with citrus dressing

• Sushi and sashimi with wasabi and pickled ginger

• Goat cheese, feta or a simple citrus and fennel salad

FAQ 🧐

Is it dry or sweet?
This is a dry Riesling. The intensity of lemon and lime is balanced by crisp acidity rather than sweetness.

What makes the Reserve different from a standard Riesling?
The Reserve is made from 100 percent free run juice and specially selected dry grown fruit, giving extra purity, finesse and intensity compared to a broader estate blend.

Do I need to decant it?
Not essential, but pouring it into a jug or carafe and giving it a little air can help the florals and citrus blossom characters open up.

A powerful yet precise dry grown Riesling, with all the lime, chalk and length you expect from top Mount Barker fruit, polished into a beautifully pure Reserve expression.

Learn About Galafrey Winery

 For over four decades, the Tyrer family has tended their dry-grown vineyards, producing small parcels of high-quality fruit and transforming them into wines of character and nuance. Flavours express the cool climate and gravelly soils of Mount Barker, resulting in bright whites and elegantly structured reds loved by locals and visitors alike.

Galafrey is survived by mother and daughter team, Linda and Kim Tyrer. Nigel Rowe, Kim husband has now joined the team.

Linda, Kim and Nigel maintain a hands-on role to ensure that the Galafrey philosophy is upheld.

Today, Galafrey has twelve hectares under vine consisting of Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Merlot Grapes. We are also growing Muller-Thurgau, a unique white grape variety that produces a light, flavourful, fruity grape that has some similar characteristics to Riesling.

Galafrey’s impressive cellar door boasts breathtaking views of the vines and surrounding bushland. Come and meet Bruce, the winery dog, who will greet you at the car park and escort you to the door. And, most importantly, enjoy the taste that is Galafrey Wines.

Meet the Winemaker: Kim Tyrer 🍇

At the heart of Galafrey Wines in Mount Barker is Kim Tyrer — a passionate, hands-on winemaker who has helped shape one of the Great Southern’s most loved family wineries into what it is today. Galafrey was founded in 1977 by Kim’s father, Ian Tyrer, with a strong belief in Mount Barker’s cool-climate potential and the power of dry-grown fruit.
But in 2003, after Ian sadly passed away, the future of Galafrey became uncertain. That’s when Kim stepped in — at just 25 years old — taking on the responsibility of keeping the family legacy alive, while learning the ropes through one of the most challenging periods imaginable.

Kim officially became CEO and winemaker in 2011, and she’s been driving Galafrey forward ever since — combining tradition with a fresh outlook and a deep connection to place. She’s also proudly open about her path into winemaking: self-taught, determined, and constantly learning. In her own words, that “self-taught” background pushes her to stay focused, work harder, and back herself in — which absolutely shows in the quality and consistency of the wines.

Today, Galafrey remains a true family operation. Kim works closely alongside her mum Linda Tyrer (her business partner), and her husband Nigel Rowe, who plays a major role in the vineyard — meaning every bottle is still shaped by family hands from vine to glass.

What makes Kim’s wines so special is how clearly they reflect their Mount Barker home. The Galafrey vineyard is dry-grown (unirrigated) and sits at around 260 metres above sea level, helping naturally retain brightness and acidity in the fruit — especially important for varieties like Riesling.
Kim’s style is all about integrity, balance and honesty: wines with purity of fruit, regional personality, and that classic Great Southern “freshness” that makes you want another glass.

She’s also gained serious recognition within the Australian wine scene. Kim has been selected in the Top 50 Young Gun of Wine winemakers across multiple years (including 2018–2023), and has also been acknowledged as a finalist in women-in-leadership wine awards.
Those achievements reflect what many locals already knew — that Kim isn’t just continuing a legacy… she’s strengthening it.

Kim Tyrer is proof that the best wineries aren’t always the biggest — they’re the ones built on resilience, family, place, and the kind of passion you can taste in every sip.