Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Australian Wine Companion
Bright straw-green, less developed than its '18 sibling. The bouquet and palate are another thing, with very impressive length and focus, the mouth asking more please. Meyer lemon and lime coalesce.
-
Wine Enthusiast
If ever there were an introduction into the delightful and utterly singular world of Hunter Valley Semillon, this wine is it. Typical to the style, it initially offers a delicate yet bright and fruity nose of peach and red apple fruit backed by secondary characters like beeswax, wool and dried green herbs. Then comes a characteristic rush of vibrant acidity in the mouth, buoying a slippery texture and sun-kissed fruit. Medium bodied, this could equally be at home by the pool, on the dinner table or in the cellar until 2026.
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.