Whistestop Hunter tour

Rostered day off meant training in Maitland so I thought I'd treat myself and spend a few hours tasting in the Hunter beforehand…

Okay, it's got the best restaurant (allegedly) in the valley but my own experiences of the wines have been less than overwhelming but it has been a number of years since I've had their stuff so benefit of the doubt. Rather shocked that they charged for the tasting - this isn't bloody California!

• 2017 Hungerford Hill Sémillon Hunter Valley

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Aromas of apple, lemon over lime and cut grass. Juicy and more grassy on the palate and a little tart. Clean, medium length. Okay

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• 2016 Hungerford Hill Fiano The Underground Project

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Medium minus intensity aromas of crushed almonds, muted citrus fruits, slightly waxy elements. Tart and more green apple and lemon juice on the palate with some burr on the mid palate. Hmm

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• 2017 Hungerford Hill Pinot Gris Tumbarumba

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Tumbarumba

  Perfumed, slightly floral top notes over slightly dirty/bruised green apple and a touch of minerality. Tartly acidic, almost spicily so. Sharp green apple fruit is a little muted and it finishes a touch short. Meh.

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• 2015 Hungerford Hill Chardonnay Tumbarumba

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Tumbarumba

  Buttery, oaky with citrus over stone fruit. More lemon and spice. Tart, despite the malo, fruit is quite short as well and there is a fair amount of mid palate burr. Meh

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• 2017 Hungerford Hill Pinot Meunier Members Selection

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Spiced cherry with jubey notes, pretty on the nose. It's more spicy and savoury with slight bitter notes that battle with the pretty frit and it finishes a little short. Probably needs times to calm down and, for me, rather interesting.

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• 2015 Hungerford Hill Pinot Noir Tumbarumba

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Tumbarumba

  Rich, cherry, oak, spice, slightly buttery notes. Again the spicy elements are little too bold for the fruit with some mid palate burr joining here. Less oak please. Nah.

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• 2015 Hungerford Hill Shiraz Hunter Valley

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Dusty plummy spice backed by some gamey, meaty notes and cream and slight vanilla. In the mouth its juicy and wet and spicy but all is quite muted. Tannins are grippy and slightly drying but still quite fine textured. A reflection of the (dodgy) vintage? Nah

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• 2017 Hungerford Hill Shiraz Preservative Free Hunter Valley

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  medium minus intensity aromas of pretty blackberry fruit, muted spice and slightly confected notes. In the mouth it's soft, round and broad but also quite alcoholic and spiced on the finish which is not in fitting with the wine and, consequently, not very nice. Nah.

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Just the two here - both wines that I have tried before (and own, so good to see their progress). All the chardonnay had been sold out. These two had been open a day apparently.

• 2015 Lake's Folly Cabernets

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Slightly lifted glue notes over wet berry fruit that is more brambly and quite funky, also a little mixed spice and cream. Juicy and tangy with cherry over berry. Long, tannins are slightly gritty. Time please but otherwise pleasant in a wet way.

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• 2012 Lake's Folly Cabernets

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Pencil shavings and graphite over savoury brambly blackcurrant. Juicy and spicy, the fruit is subdued and the acidity is quite pointy but otherwise this is long and lovely. Again, time required.

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first visit here since the inaugural wine-ark boys on tour outing. A rather splendid experience though, again, charges where levied - not such an issue here as it meant back-vintages were available...I should come back here more often.

• 2016 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Eight Acres

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Slightly dusty ,muted fruit - aromas of apples and lemons. On the palate it's juiciness turns exceedingly sharp very quickly The apple and citrus flavours finish a little quickly and there is a very slight metallic note. Meh.

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• 2016 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Elizabeth

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Apple over very slight stone fruit and lemon. Slight spice and wet grass back this up - the latter lending a herbaceous note. In the mouth it's juicy, apples with medium minus length. Simple, fresh and easy it has the advantage of being relatively well balanced.

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• 2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Elizabeth

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Biscuit, toast, apples slightly sweet spice, very honeyed notes. Touch of spritzy on the palate and the acidity is pointy over buttered toast with slight honey and muted apple fruit. Crikey but this is lovely. I wonder how cheap I can get it?

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• 2011 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  bees wax, slightly honey, slight spice, lemon and lemon oil. On the palate there is a slightly spritzy, it's sharply juicy with citrus fruit backed by crunchy apple and slight front of mouth grip. Lots of time required.

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• 2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Low intensity aromas, initially, of honey, toast, butter, slightly grassy elements and granny smith apples. It's juicy on the palate with apples and honey and sweet spice. Not yet as sort as the 2007but still generous and slightly waxy textured on the mid palate. Yum to put it mildly...

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• 2007 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Medium minus intensity aromas of honey, apple, toast, grassy notes,. Softly juicy and easy. Apples, honey over slightly herbaceous notes and lemon and a touch of front of mouth grip. Exceedingly long. Splendid.

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• 2016 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Mountain 'C'

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Pretty cherry over spice; smells lightweight and perfumed and so it proves on the palate. Easy, lightweight, quaffable with slight coffee notes joining the soft fruit.

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• 2014 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Rosehill

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  slightly reductive cherries and plums and plentiful peppery spice over creamier elements with a little plain chocolate here as well on the nose. In the mouth it's juicy, tight but wet, very spicy over the plummy fruit. Finishes warm and dry with flour textured tannins closing things down. Time may help but this feels classic Hunter.

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• 2014 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Mountain 'A'

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Medium minus intensity, slightly reductive, cherries and plums with Asian five spice and peppers. Surprisingly soft and easy on the palate, plums and cherries and the spice note is more contained with this wine compared to the Rosehill. Good

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• 2013 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz 1946 Vines Rosehill

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Soft plums, gently spice, slightly sour cherry and wet clay. Fruit is slightly more unripe than the 2014's but this nicely done.

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• 2014 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Mountain 'D'

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Medium minus intensity aromas but quite brooding and dense with slightly porty notes, plums and prunes touch of herbaceousness, cream and cedar. Big, chewy, dark hued fruit then a fair whack of peppery spice. Tannins are chalky but fruit persists. Hmm

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• 2013 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Mountain 'D'

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Again this is quite brooding and dense but with more red fruit elements joins the plums and prunes and a slightly lifted note. Juicy, tightly tannic, red and black berry fruits travel long backed by spice. Balanced, very long in fact. Very good as well.

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• 2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Rosehill

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Oak over ripe, but not overripe, plums & blackberries, cream, lightweight spice. More of the same on the palate, tending to Christmas cake and vanilla custard backed with peppery spice and fine but drying tannins.

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and first time visit here for yonks and yonks…they've changed the layout and begun to charge as well…As they had the entirety of their range I allowed myself (again) to be drawn beyond the constraints of the Hunter Valley…

• 2015 Lindeman's Sémillon Bin 1555

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Slightly cheesy lees, apple, cut grass, citrus. Slight spritz, lemon over green apples, medium length nominal interest.

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• 2013 Lindeman's Shiraz Bin 1300 Ben Ean Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Plummy and spicy, quite rich and jammy with spiced oak. Sharp acidity and spicier over the plums on the palate with slightly gritty tannins. Hmm. its bit too sharp for me.

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• 2014 Lindeman's Shiraz Bin 1410 Ben Ean Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Ripe sweet plums, peppery spice, cedar, slight vanilla. Juicy and spicy, like the 2013 but the fruit is far riper. Taninns are tight, grippy and slightly gritty textured. Finishes a little alcoholically warm. Hmm.

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• 2014 Lindeman's Pyrus

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Ahh, smells like Aussie Ripe Bordeaux blend. Blackcurrant, berry, oaky spice over cream, vanilla and slight pyrazine Also some ripe black and blue plums. In the mouth it's juicy with a similar fruit profile here. Tannins are grainy and drying but the ripe fruit persist and there is plenty of alcohol warmth on the finish. It is what it is.

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• 2014 Lindeman's Cabernet Sauvignon Trio St. George

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

  Pyrazine, blackcurrant, cream and vanilla. More of the same on the palate - tannins are drying, alcohol quite point, fruit travels long. Hmm.

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ditto on Lindemans here for me…last time I came they only had one white and one red from the Hunter…hardly worth the bother…fortunately that has changed

• 2016 Brokenwood Sémillon

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Apple and lemon over spice. Soft nose (if that makes sense) with slight grass . Juicy apple over lemon, slight spice, slight tannic burr.

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• 2015 Brokenwood Sémillon Poppy's Block

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Cut grass and wet hay with granny smith apples. Spritzy with exceedingly sharp acidity and plenty of furiously crushed granny smiths. Needs a couple of millennia…

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• 2009 Brokenwood Sémillon Oakey Creek Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Ahh, aged Hunter Semillon. Honey, toast, apples and spice backed by buttery elements. All of this on the palate married to searingly sharp acidity and a waxy mid palate. Yum but the acid is too much for the stage the wine is at. I would suspect someone has been a little heavy handed with the tartaric additions here.

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• 2011 Brokenwood Sémillon ILR Reserve

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Rich but slightly dusty, spiced and honeyed, apples over lemon and lemon grass and an almost sulphurous note. Slightly spritzy with pointy acidity, apples over lemons. Long. Nice but I think this would fall behind the Lovedale and Vat 1 for me.

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• 2015 Brokenwood Chardonnay Maxwell Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Spicy, cheesy, yeasty' wild ferment over peach. Soft but with juicy acidity. More fruit on the palate. Easy. Forgettable.

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• 2015 Brokenwood Shiraz

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  spicy, rich, plummy fruit over red berries, cream and vanilla. Juicy, spicy, peppery and plummy. Tannins are abundant but soft. Pleasant.

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• 2015 Brokenwood Shiraz Kat's Block

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  Pyrazine! Very herbaceous over blackberries and cream. That herbaceous quality carries to the palate lending, also, a slightly ashy element…hmm, whole bund? Tannins are gritty and fruit is present but muted.

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• 2015 Brokenwood Shiraz Tallawanta

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  Medium minus intensity aromas of peppery spice, slightly funky wild ferment notes. Juicy, plummy, spicy with black hued fruits. Tannins are present, persistent, carry long but also carry the fruit. Well balanced and pretty good.

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And that was that…rather splendid. I suspect a repeat performance, on a more restrictive scale, in a couple of weeks but targeting different wineries…Mount Pleasant was unsurprisingly good, Brokenwood gets my 'most improved' if only for the increased selection of Hunter wines…Though I was initially shocked by the charging I was more than happy to pay to see back vintages. All in all an excellent pre-cursor to fun in a paddock with the team...