Tyrrell's Vat 1 Vertical
Tasted Tuesday, March 30, 2021 by lightning with 214 views
Introduction
A rare opportunity to taste 6 vintages of this Hunter Valley classic. Only the 1998 was under cork, the rest under Stelvin. (W)
Flight 1 (6 Notes)
Closing
The 2018 and 2014 perhaps too young at this stage to bother with at a vertical tasting, only the 1998 and 2007 at (different) peaks. The 2004 was an oddity, bruising acid predominant. Maybe it's a case of matching the wine to the appropriate food. Wonderful to try nonetheless.
2018 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Soapy with lush tropical fruits, slick lanolin in texture. Good depth, from a warm dry vintage. The ripe fruit profile stood out against a Vat 1 vertical of 1998, 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2014.
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2014 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Fairly tight aromatically, the palate is dominated by a perky citrus acidity that extends with length. The wine is in a transition phase at the moment, yet to pick up the classic Hunter semillon tertiary characters.
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2012 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
The topnote of green capsicum protrudes and is a touch unattractive, bearing some comparison to a new world Sauv Blanc. Palate is starting to develop towards the first tertiary phase, lemon curd, acid spine well integrated.
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2007 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
At a peak. Medium lemon colour. Wonderful balance - toasty, white fruits and cantaloupe, medium bodied with soft acidity woven through the wine like filigree. All elements are in harmony. Excellent, and one of the wines of the Vat 1 vertical. Screwcap.
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2004 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Light to medium gold, looks considerable younger than 17 years. Challenging to evaluate at this stage, on first approach the palate is still overwhelmed by citrus acid, shading just a hint of fruit underneath. Some toast notes emerge with time. Unsure if this is still primary or unbalanced in structure. Screwcap.
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1998 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Medium to deep gold in colour. In a bracket of 6 Vat 1 spanning 98-2018, this was notable for its development (in line with its age), with pronounced toast and vanillin aromatics, fine firm acid draw through the palate, good length. This was the only Vat 1 that had the vanillin characteristic...is the the result of the natural ageing progression of Hunter Semillon? Or is it vintage variation, or even some influence from oak? The vanillin note is consistent with an earlier tasting of 1998 Vat 1 from 2018.
Top provenance for this bottle, believed to have been purchased on released and professionally cellared for most, if not all, its life.
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