2009 Brokenwood Sémillon ILR Reserve
Community Tasting Note
srh Likes this wine:
Friday, June 28, 2019 - Friday Tasting Group: "Killer Bar" (#03 for me): "New World" Theme (Vintage Wines Ltd., San Diego, CA): "The hand-picked fruit was crushed, chilled, & pressed immediately. Neutral yeasts were used for the 3-4 wk fermentation in s/s tanks. The wine was then cold-settled, racked, & filtered prior to bottling, without any influence from malolactic fermentation or oak." 11.0% ABV, 2.8 g/L RS, 7.63 g/L T.A., & 2.90 pH;
N: EARTHY, with aromas I can't quite parse, but poss including lemons; After 2+ hrs in a small tasting glass, a toastiness
P: LM body; Rndish entry with NICE (though subtle) frt met by a PUCKERISH acidity which makes itself felt into the LONG, tangy, LEMONY finish with ULT a discrete swtness &... BALANCE. My EXC-/EXC, though I'd quite expect higher for this IMPECCABLY *balanced* wine with an addt'l couple of yrs in the cellar. 97 pts James Halliday (& 1 of his top 100 for '15), 96 Huon Hooke, 95 Jeremy Oliver, 93 Tom Cannavan, 92+ WA (Czerwinski), 92 ea Wine & Spirits, RJonWine, Vinous (Raynolds), & WE (Czerwinski) with "Cellar Selection" @ $48, 17+/20 Jancis Robinson (Hemming), + 2 medals on wine-searcher's "Tasting Notes" pg.
Note #1: With 1 addt'l exception, the group was NOT "into" this wine, perhaps because it's an unusual style (for other than this var/area) that no one came even remotely close to placing. [Wines @ the Fri Group Tastings are served blindly.] Also, IDEALLY this wine likely NEEDED at least a yr or 2 more of cellaring, & even then, though I'M a fan, I quite "get" why the majority of even experienced tasters likely would NOT find anything "special" 'bout the style. :(
Note #2: Even @ room temp after 2+ hrs in a small tasting glass, I still got PUCKERISH acidity when it FIRST hit my mouth, then the *BALANCE* & frt kicked in. So, since this is an outlier style/varietal that REQUIRES patience to "understand", very, VERY few are realistically going to take the requisite interest/effort.
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Comment posted by Screwcaps:
11/20/2020 1:37:00 PM - Thank you for your detailed notes. Young Hunter is a polarising style, but once it has blossomed with age, it is a rival for the best Chardonnay and dry Riesling styles of the world. Have tried this one twice now in the last 2 years. It is moving at a glacial pace. But it will get there. Another 5-10 years and it will be singing.
Comment posted by srh:
11/20/2020 4:08:00 PM - THANK you so, SO *much* for the info, Screwcaps, it being PARTICULARLY valuable as my tasting experience is but this TN + one for the 1st/6 bottles of the '11 vintage I'm now cellaring. [HV Sémillons are rarely seen here in the U.S. 🙁 ] Do you have any experience with the '11 vintage of this? While I'm planning on cellaring my 5 remaining bottles for "a while", just HOW long that might be IS a puzzler for me.
Comment posted by Screwcaps:
11/20/2020 7:09:00 PM - Have not tried the 2011 of this wine, but you can expect it to be a little more forward on its development. The 2009 seems a bit of a freak that does not age. With Hunter Semillon I drink in the first couple of years, or then wait 7-10 for the awkwardness of adolescence to wear out and the aged characters to lock in. Enjoy your foray in to Aussie Semillon. You might also like to try Tyrrells (Vat 1 is considered the top Hunter sem) or close behind is Mount Pleasant’s Lovedale. Andrew Thomas’ Braemore also very good at a fraction of the price.
Comment posted by srh:
11/21/2020 2:11:00 PM - MANY thanks, once again, for the SENSATIONAL info, Screwcaps! 😀 I'd not heard of either the Lovedale or Braemore (3 different bottlings?), at least 1 reason being that they're apparently VERY hard to come by here in the U.S. The Tyrrell's Vat 1 was actually the 1st HV Sém I considered, though it was going to be even > expensive/awkward because I would have had to have had it shipped directly to me, something I try to avoid. However, when I was able to try this '09 ILR, & then learned the shop where I did most of my tasting could bring the almost as highly regarded '11 in for me... 😉 Yet another factor: Brokenwood's U.S. Distributor is one of the BEST I've seen @ providing MOST of the info I incorporated into https://www.cellartracker.com/showwikirevision.asp?iWine=2680413&JoinType=Wine&iIndex=2680413
Given my age & remaining 5/6 bottles of the '11, I'm sure I can't wait as long as you for "the aged characters to lock in", at least for the *vast* MAJORITY of those bottles. 🙁 So, I'll *certainly* be attending to TNs for the 250+ bottles CT says are still being cellared. 😉
Comment posted by Screwcaps:
11/21/2020 5:08:00 PM - Enjoy! I’d be drinking one every two years until they peak for you. They are slow moving if you are storing properly. Enjoy the ride!