1998 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1

Community Tasting Notes (54) Avg Score: 91.7 points

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  7/2/2023 - kostaslonis Likes this wine:

  10th MW Symposium, Wiesbaden - Day 4: Alcohol 10.5%, 2.61 g/l residual sugar, 7.6 g/l acidity, 2.9 pH
  Vineyard: The first vines of the 6.4 hectare Short Flat vineyard were planted in 1908.
  Yield: 35 hl/ha, vines 30+ yo.
  Soil Type: Sandy well-drained soils with all the vines on their own roots.
  Harvest Notes: Drought conditions were experienced during the growing period followed by extreme heat in January and February. Consequently 1998 was a short sharp vintage that produced ripe clean fruit of excellent quality.
  
  Vinification: The fruit was crushed and then fined prior to temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the wine spent minimal time on fine yeast lees before being prepared for an early bottling to retain the vibrant fresh fruit characters. The next six years were then quietly spent in a dark, temperature and humidity controlled cellaring facility at the winery before being released. Maturation: Bottle aged. Oak influence: Stainless steel production and bottle aged. No oak whatsoever. Months in bottle: 300
  
  -/-
  
  The wine shows high intensity, still utterly flinty and smoky, grapefruit, dried quince, some mastic notes, sesame, some very ripe stone fruit in the back
  Palate showing high intensity, unbelievably dry palate, dry notes, underripe citrus, grapefruit and quince notes, light body, endless finish of dried green apple and pear. This remains the benchmark of the style.
  Amazingly so, the wine feels the same as the 1st time I’ve tasted this vintage back in 2014

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  5/22/2022 - Geoff7777 wrote:

  2nd of 3 and another fine cork does its job. Almost identical to previous bottle, but with a hint of Kaffir lime and lemon grass adding to the potpourri. Drink up 18+

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  3/19/2022 - Geoff7777 wrote:

  1 of 3 Purchased yesterday, why wait? When the cork does its job these are memorable. Pale golden. Subtle nose and the full array of hunter Semillon is on show, with lemon, lime, straw and buttered toast all present with none dominating. Very dry palate, and you cannot help but suspect the fruit has been reduced by cork wood taking over, affecting the overall balance. With air, lemon and toast lead the way. At or just past its peak based on this bottle, and the corks are usually poor quality. Drink up 18+

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  3/30/2021 - lightning wrote:

  Tyrrell's Vat 1 Vertical: 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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  7/17/2020 - CamWheeler wrote: flawed

  Tim's 50th Dinner #2: Corked.

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