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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2025 and 2036 (based on 21 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 13 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ProfByron on 4/5/2024 & rated 92 points: I enjoyed this very much. Youthful but fine, some lovely vanilla flavour buried under the lime.
Will live a very long life.
11.5%, screwcap. (983 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 3/7/2024: {screwcap, 11.5%} Pale straw. Hard to make much of this, to be honest. Still absurdly young it's mostly just a grassy impression, not even especially acidic. Light-bodied, maybe with a bit of rockmelon or faint hint of lime juice. The palate is quite even, but also faint, and the finish dies away leaving fleeting hints of texture without much flavour. It's so neutral you wonder if it'll ever evolve; will take twenty years at least. It was widely acclaimed as a very good vintage for reds; not sure that the top years for reds & whites ever coincide much. Still no real point in drinking it now! (1329 views) | | | Tasted by kostaslonis on 1/30/2024: Australia Trade Tasting (Lindley Hall, Royal Horticultural Halls): tight, mineral, piercing nose, showing sme fruit in the back, palate same, austere with a touch more fruit in palate, lemon, lean, long finish (559 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 9/23/2023: Grape, Grain and Graze Festival (Olympic Park, Homebush, Sydney): Green apple, lemon grass, slight wet hay. Medium plus intensity acidity, bitter and tough. Time should help but meh today (2128 views) | | | Tasted by Collector1855 on 9/5/2023 & rated 92 points: During a walkabout tasting, so only brief impressions. Complex, leesy aromas in the nose, dry all stainless steel, good freshness and enough body. (2417 views) | | | Tasted by colinscellar on 5/18/2023 & rated 91 points: Drunk next to the '17 Pokolbin Hills at Tyrrells BYO Dinner and you could see that the Pokolbin was open and rich now but that Vat 1 is the one to cellar.
Subdued on opening but there's lovely, quite ripe, citrus as well as a fresh saline character. Surprisingly soft, I expected the acidity to feel more prominent.
Enjoyable now but really wants more time. (1851 views) | | | Tasted by Jimmy_D on 8/22/2021 & rated 92 points: First of my dozen for a quick check and this is shaping up to be a killer vintage. Everything in place and gliding along early. Really enjoyed the mineral edge, oyster shell and a flintiness showing up. Freshness that made me think of a salty sea breeze. Or maybe it was just me pining for a dozen oysters to go with it? Stock up! (2426 views) | | | Tasted by CamWheeler on 5/26/2018 & rated 92 points: Tyrrell's Private Bin Tasting (Hunter Valley): Orange, talc, floral and spices, lemon and vanilla bean. Good step up in intensity and depth on the palate, having that extra layer of persistence as well. Great potential to improve. (3851 views) | | | Tasted by Jimmy_D on 5/22/2018 & rated 91 points: Tyrrell's cellar door tasting session - 2017 reds (Pokolbin, NSW): Rewarding early. This is showing some nice fruit already, but it’s the overall structure that excites me. Doing its thing effortlessly. Time will reward patience. (3379 views) | | | Tasted by graemeg on 1/20/2018: Hunter Valley - 4 Cellar Doors (Hunter Valley): {screwcap, 11.5%, A$50} Lime hint with gentle citrus, and a fresh straw nose. Surprisingly smooth and subdued palate; there is medium acid and medium weight; an even palate, with white fruit flavor. It’s all rather young to make much impact just now. (2987 views) | | | Tasted by VinCapitan on 11/7/2017 & rated 94 points: white flowers, tropical fruited, white peach and passionfruit, with lime, limeskin, light hebaceousness, lemon curd, nice minerality with a zip of acid suring things up. lean and mean. Strong. A baby. (2987 views) |
| NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and JamesSuckling.com and Halliday Wine Companion and The WINEFRONT. (manage subscription channels) |
| Tyrrell's Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)
Nothing is great unless it is good The Tyrrell family wine story
2008 marks the 150th anniversary of our family’s arrival in Pokolbin to commence its future in the Australian wine industry. 150 years of one family with a constant base and industry in which it operates is a rarity in the country. We Tyrrells have been on our vineyard for two thirds of Australia’s modern history. The motto of ‘nothing is great unless it is good’ came with my great grandfather from England and has been a guiding beacon for the family through the 150 years. It has been and will be the basis of all we do.
We have passed many milestones along the way, with the past 50 years contributing the most. The introduction of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the modern Australian industry, our expansion outside our beloved Hunter Valley to Mclaren Vale, Limestone Coast and Heathcote, and the championing of the introduction Semillon variety from the Hunter are, to me, the outstanding achievements.
The Heathcote move will see us at the forefront of the development of what I believe will be the next great Shiraz area of Australia; one that will rival and then surpass the Barossa and Mclaren Vale.
Hunter Semillon has provided us with the rare opportunity to work with one of the truly unique wine styles of the world and I trust that in my lifetime it will be recognized worldwide for its great quality.
The continuation of Tyrrell’s Wines as a family business for another 150 years, at least, is my greatest dream. Family businesses always have a longer term view of the world, its operation and its people. It is from the family businesses that the innovation and leadership required by the wine industry, nationally and locally, will come. Wine is forever in our blood and in our dreams.
Pauline and I will probably not see the 200th anniversary of Tyrrell’s but the future of it will be in safe hands. Our three children Jane, John and Christopher, will have created their own part of our family’s history and tradition.
M. Bruce Tyrrell AM
Managing Director
Tyrrell’s Wines
Established in 1858 by English immigrant Edward Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s Wines is one of Australia’s pre-eminent family owned wine companies with vineyards extending from their historic home in the Hunter Valley to the Limestone Coast (SA) and Heathcote (VIC).
Headed up by fourth generation family member Bruce Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s is home to some of Australia’s most awarded wines including the iconic Vat 1 Semillon. Since 1971, Tyrrell’s has been awarded over 5,000 trophies and medals and in 2010 was named “Winery of the Year” in James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion.
With the fifth generation, Chris, Jane and John, involved in the business, Tyrrell’s will continue to remain family owned with the simple philosophy of producing high quality wine that people love to drink.
Philosophy
My great grandfather arrived in Pokolbin in 1858 and took up a concessional allotment of 320 acres. This marks the start of over 150 years of the Tyrrell’s being a constant in both the Hunter Valley and Australian wine industries. The motto he brought with him from England “nothing is great unless it is good”, remains as a guiding beacon of what we have been, what we are and what we will be in the future.
The past 50 years has been an era of growth and innovation. We have purchased, or leased many of the great vineyard blocks of the Hunter, introduced chardonnay and pinot noir to the modern Australian wine industry and have been lucky enough to work with Hunter semillon - one of the truly unique wines of the world. Hunter semillon has been the obsession of my generation and it is wonderful to now see international acceptance of the greatness and unique quality of this wine.
When I joined the business full time in 1974, we were a small winery with 95% of the business being at Cellar Door and having made about three export sales; one each to the USA, UK and Sweden. Today, we are a medium sized family business with vineyards in the Hunter Valley, Limestone Coast and Heathcote, and export to more than 50 countries around the world.
The two great developments of the last 20 years have been the selection of the land for our vineyard in Heathcote in Victoria; an area which, I believe, will join the front rank of great quality region in Australia. In the past four years, we have identified the six vineyard blocks that we have which are greater than 100 years old and when the quality was good enough, produced and bottled them as stand alone wines. These are amongst the rarest vineyards in the world.
It is the wish of the current generation that the family goes on for at least another 150 years. Without family business our economy would lack length of vision for the future and the long term commitment to quality and innovation.
We are proud to be a member of the Australia’s First Families of Wine as we all share the same long term vision of the Australian wine industry.
M. Bruce Tyrrell AM
Managing Director
Our Home
The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's premier wine growing regions and takes in an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. It is bordered by mountain ranges, all of which are part of the Hunter River system catchment. The upper Hunter (around Scone, Murrurundi and Merriwa) is undulating country while the lower Hunter (Maitland, Cessnock) is reasonably flat country, some of which lies in the flood plains of the Hunter, Paterson and Williams Rivers. Much of the economy in the Hunter region is based upon mining, light industry, steel production and agriculture.
Only a two hour drive north of Sydney, a car is recommended if you plan on exploring the Hunter Valley during your stay. Cessnock is the southern gateway to the Hunter Valley wine region. Pokolbin is located about six kilometres west of Cessnock and is the major centre in the region. With plenty of beautiful accommodation, restaurants and live entertainment, it is the perfect location for a weekend getaway.
Tyrrell’s Wines manage a large number of vineyards throughout the Hunter Valley in NSW, totaling just over 500 acres. The majority of the plantings are semillon and shiraz, for which the region is renowned. The winery is based in Pokolbin and is the home of Tyrrell’s Wines, with the original slab hut built in 1858 still standing. The Cellar Door is located at the same address and is open seven days a week with daily winery tours operating at 10.30am.
Our Vineyards
Building upon their inheritance of just 60 acres to 900 acres today, Tyrrell’s premium vineyards extend from their historic home in the Hunter Valley to other distinguished grape growing regions of Australia including Heathcote in Victoria and the Limestone Coast in South Australia.
2017 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1WINEMAKER’S SELECTION
VAT 1 SEMILLON 2017
Vineyard
Vat 1 Semillon only ever comes from the oldest and best blocks. The vines are all dry grown, on their own roots, and date back to 1923.
Vintage Conditions
The 2017 Vintage was one of the best in recent memory and has produced wines of the highest quality. Solid rains in winter and spring meant the vines had constant access to water and the warmer weather in the new year meant all of the fruit was in near perfect condition and ripeness when it was harvested.
Winemaker’s Notes
All of the fruit was hand picked and carefully sorted in the vineyard. After a relatively cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks, the wine spent a minimal time on yeast lees before being bottled early to maintain its freshness. No oak fermentation or maturation.
Tasting Notes
With lifted lime citrus aromas the palate is seamless, showing the typical powerful fruit core which is balanced by the wine’s texture and soft acid profile. This wine shows a length of flavour only produced from great vineyards.
Date Picked 1 - 3 February 2017 | Date Bottled 28 June 2017 Alc 11.5% | pH 3.10 | TA 6.34 g/L
Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1THE STORY Langtons VII classification Outstanding
First vintaged in 1963 and originally called Hunter River Riesling, the now Vat 1 Semillon originates from the dry-grown Short Flat Vineyard, with vines dating back to 1923. Early picked, stainless steel fermented and aged on lees for up to 10 weeks, this wine is the classic reference point for a Hunter Valley semillon. It is typically quite tight and lemony when young, with clean, steely backbone. With age it develops a golden colour, honeyed, straw aromas and a soft, immensely complex and flavoursome palate.
2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1989, 1987, 1986, 1984, 1979, 1977, 1976, 1974, 1972.Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)New South Walesd we’reHunter Valley Mudgee Wine Country |
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