Winemaker Notes
Vibrant in color, with lots of luminous green tints. Lovely florals and lemongrass aromas. Mouth filling flavors of green apple and lemon pith balancing the zesty acid backbone. The flavors linger on for quite some time, similar to the 2021, a classic Hunter Valley Semillon to enjoy now or age gracefully.
Pair with Asian food or any seafood especially freshly shucked oysters.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Wet growing conditions that prevailed through to January ’22 were well-managed across the patchwork quilt of vineyards spread across the Hunter. Flavours of lemongrass, citrus and lanolin all contributing, this has the balance and length to transform itself over the next five years.
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James Suckling
A textbook semillon from Hunter Valley as always, with sliced lemons, green apples and lemon curd character with minerals and waxy undertones. It’s full and layered with a bright acidity and vivid finish. Drink or hold.
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Decanter
Citrusy and gently aromatic nose, very pure citrus zest scents with hints of fresh cut grass. Fine boned acidity.
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Wine Enthusiast
From the historic Hunter Valley, this Semillon is light, fresh and crisp, with green apple and citrus characters flanked by tomato leaf, white pepper and bell pepper notes. There’s a lovely textural element to the palate, which jives well with the tongue-tingling acidity. Pair it with a summer salad or fish and chips. Old Bridge Cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Semillon is grassy, green and tight, with a mineral seam of bright acidity that courses through the palate. It's glassy, polished and thrumming with acid. It's also talc-y, in its way.
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Wine Spectator
Shows savory toasted sesame seed, with lemongrass, pear, lemon and lime sherbet notes and a touch of white pepper on the fresh, juicy finish. Drink now. 500 cases imported.
Sémillon has the power to create wines with considerable structure, depth and length that will improve for several decades. It is the perfect partner to the vivdly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon especially shines in the Bordeaux region of Sauternes, which produces some of the world’s greatest sweet wines. Somm Secret—Sémillon was so common in South Africa in the 1820s, covering 93% of the country’s vineyard area, it was simply referred to as Wyndruif, or “wine grape.”
Most admired for citrus-driven, mineral-rich and often age-worthy Semillon wines, Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions and was home to its very first commercial vineyards. The region’s warm summer nights coupled with autumn cloud cover and cool sea breezes allow full ripening and healthy acidity levels for Semillon; its diverse soils of volcanic basalt and white alluvial sands promote the development of Semillon’s delicate aromas. Hunter Valley Semillons can certainly be enjoyed in their youth but with 10 to 20 years in the cellar, the best examples develop intriguing notes of honey, browned butter and roasted nuts.
Chardonnay and Shiraz also do well in Hunter Valley.