2016 Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard Hunter Valley Sémillon

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 90 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Henman's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/16/2021 - Henman Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Subtle stony minerals on the nose. Medium bodied, dry, crispy, a bit steely with refreshing acidity, showing subtle citrus and apple with some stony mineral. Elegant and poised. Mouthwatering stuff.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/17/2020 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  11,5% alcohol, 1 g/l residual sugar and 6,6 g/l acidity.
  
  Rather neutral yellow-ish green color. Fresh, sappy and somewhat herbal nose with fragrant yet zippy aromas of zesty citrus fruits, oregano-driven herbal notes, some smoky reductive notes, a little bit of sweet, candied fruit, light waxy tones, a hint of crunchy white fruit and a touch of apple peel. The wine is racy, crunchy and light-bodied on the palate with dry, crisp flavors of tart green apples, white currants, some stony mineral tones, a little bit of grassy greenness, light citrus fruit notes of pomelo, a hint of hay and a touch of quince. The bracing acidity lends a very structured and palate-cleansing feel to the wine. The finish is crisp, racy and acid-driven with bright flavors of tart green apples, some lemony citrus fruits, a little bit of pomelo, light mineral notes of wet stones and chalk dust, a hint of tangy salinity and a touch of rubbery reduction.
  
  A very nice, crisp and structured Hunter Valley Sémillon that is still all too youthful for its own good. With its bracing acidity, high-toned overall quality and crisp fruit flavors, the wine is still miles away from the toasty complexity these HVS wines eventually (hopefully) evolve into. For current enjoyment the wine is a bit too austere on its own, but it will go quite well with dishes that can tone down the acidity a bit and coax some fruit out. Tons of potential for future development, I'd leave the wine in a cellar for another decade or two. Terrific value at 15,05€.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View forceberry's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/16/2019 - forceberry wrote: 90 Points

  11,5% alcohol, 1 g/l residual sugar and 6,6 g/l acidity.
  
  Pale yellow-green color. Dry, fresh and zippy nose with aromas of crunchy white fruits, some hay, a little bit of almond and a hint of golden apple. The wine is crisp, light-to-medium-bodied and racy on the palate with very firm, high-strung overall feel and precise flavors of steely minerality, some quince, a little bit of hay, light red apples, a hint of tangy saline minerality and a touch of lemon juice. Bracing acidity. The finish is crisp, refreshing and mouth-cleansing with very acid-driven overall feel and intense, lengthy flavors of tart lemony citrus fruits, some tangy green apples, a little bit of saline minerality, light notes of hay, a hint of crunchy quince and a touch of steely character. Although the wine appears bone-dry, there is a smidgen of ripeness that lends a nice, sweet undertone to the flavors.
  
  A very lovely and ridiculously young Hunter Valley Sémillon. The bracing acidity might make the wine appear quite austere and tightly-coiled, especially for an uninitiated palate, but this wine is surprisingly approachable for such a young HVS. Nevertheless, it really screams for food to tone down the racy acidity and boost the sweeter undertones from the fruit. However, what I'd do, is keep the wine for another decade or so. This shows so much potential for future development. Lovely. Excellent value at 15,70€ and will only get better with age.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View avp's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/9/2018 - avp wrote:

  Wet chalk (plaster) nose with lemon to Granny Smith fruit hinting at something richer. Asparagus and gunpowder.
  Dry, sharply acidic and zingy on attack making way to a rounder hay-flirting appley mid-palate turning to wasabi and peaches before ending with a dry and astringent malic-minerally finish of considerable length. Unforgiving and a bit harsh - lovely if you like that short of thing. Delightfully low in alcohol for a dry white with only 11,5%.
  I admit I have a thing for young Hunter Valley Semillon. Sure, I also have a thing for aged Hunter Valley Semillon as well, but given my patience, it's good I also like drinking it young.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.