Semillon Lunch
Grappa Leichhardt
Tasted September 22, 2023 by Geoff7777 with 68 views
Introduction
These first four wines were all under screwcap and despite some disparity in style they remain in pristine condition. The only indication of time in bottle was the change in colour from the pale lemon of the 09s to the richer golds of the 05s. The second four wines show the glory and tragedy of cork sealed wines. Only the 97 Tyrrell’s was overtly cork affected but the 76 Rothbury was undoubtably let down by the cork. The 96 Lovedale and 78 Rothbury demonstrate that well made semillon can mature and improve for 50 years if the seal holds and doesn’t pollute. To note is that the vines that produced the Rothbury wines were pulled to make space for the Hope Estate car park. RW1
Flight 1 - 2009 Screwcap (2 notes)
White
2009 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Belying its time in the bottle it remains fresh as a daisy with aromas and flavours firmly in the citrus spectrum. There’s some grassy notes and a light toasty complexity beginning to emerge. The acidity remains fresh and drives the long finish. An exceptional wine with an almost limitless future
RW1 19
White
2009 Tyrrell's Johnno's Sémillon
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Made in a different style to the Vat 1, the basket pressed Johnno’s is richer and more forward with a more textural mouth feel. The flavours remain in the citrus spectrum and the acidity though softening keeps the finish fresh. Drinking at its best now RW1 17.5
Flight 2 - 2005 Scewcap (2 notes)
White
2005 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Bright light gold colour. The nose shows some maturity but remains fresh. The palate displays citrus and lemon grass flavours and there’s a long line of lemon twist acidity running through the palate keeping maturity at bay. Its best is yet to come RW1 18.5
Flight 3 - Mid 1990's Cork (2 notes)
White
1996 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
A rich gold colour but still pale at the edge. Developed toasty aromas over the lemon curd fruit. Mature palate, long, complex, lemony with lanolin and nutty/almond notes kept fresh by the lively acidity. A crowd pleaser RW1 18.5
White
1997 Tyrrell's Sémillon Reserve
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Belford
With a label displaying more trophies and gold medals than the Panthers have premierships, this presented as a contender for wine of the day. Unfortunately the cork gods said no. The colour was deep and a touch brassy. The nose rich and toasty but slightly dulled. There were plenty of mature flavours but they were diminished by a wet cardboard/cork taint. The saving grace was the acidity that remained fresh and provided life to the finish RW1 16
Flight 4 - 1970's REally bad cork (3 notes)
White
1978 The Rothbury Estate Sémillon Individual Paddock
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Shareholders Reserve label from Rothbury E2 Block Semillon – Luminous mid gold colour. A generous nose of citrus and vanilla bean aromas. A fully developed toasty palate rich with lemony fruit supported by still plentiful acidity. The finish remains vibrant and youthful. Outstanding RW1 19+
White
1976 The Rothbury Estate Sémillon Individual Paddock
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
Rothbury E Blocks Semillon – Full gold colour. The nose is a little reduced and dulled. Fully developed palate, toasty and lemony but a touch dried out. Some fresh acidity remains. Disappointing but not overtly cork affected RW1 16.5
Closing
Thanks Ray. A consistent bunch, corks aside. I reckon the screwcapped best Hunters will live for 50-100 years. They might be missing a touch of subtle old-style appeal from that corkwood leachate component of the best pre-screwcap (some of the Poms, such as Jancis, thought that they had seen some wood maturation so she wasn't far from the mark) - that could be added in future trials by including a thin disc of completely clean cork under the screwcap (not to be part of the sealing between screwcap and bottle) to be in contact with the wine. Fred
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