Winemaker Notes
Tyrrell's Hunter Valley Semillon is slightly floral and brisk, with notes of citrus fruit.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The opening act to a wonderful suite. Mostly HVD sourcing. Riffs on lemon grass, lime drop, pistachio husk, spa salts and nettle. Light-weighted and effusive of freshness. A little more open-knit and herbaceous, pungent and bright, than the more reticent wines of the upper tier. All the better for breaching earlier. A drape of subtle sweetness across the finish. Delicious.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Semillon is a triumph. It's tight, austere, fleshy and fine, with crushed shells, pineapple husk, green apples, layers of saline acidity and very, very fine phenolics. This is a sleek wine made for drinking now. And what pleasure it delivers; a more perfect summer wine may not exist. Look no further than Hunter Valley Semillon. 11.8% alcohol.
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.