Lemon, lemon pith, loads of steely minerality and riverstone on the nose are joined by something that reminds me of the dew evaporating off the ground in the morning. The wine smells so fresh and clean, like a spring day. On the palate … zing! loads of acidity. This is so refreshing and focused. It’s a joy to drink. A very good wine that I love with sushi and I’m sure would be great with the classic Australian pairing of raw oysters. light body, fairly light alcohol, intense flavors, and lots of acid. If Australia didn’t already have a classic style of Riesling, I would call this the Australian Riesling. I have no idea why the nerd community doesn’t talk about this more, and why the sommelier community doesn’t do more to promote it. (the style, not necessarily this specific wine)
As a side note, the '06 Brokenwood Oakey Creek Semillon is even better, with a bit more roundness, and some added depth of toasty nuances as well as some peppery spice, giving the wine an added layer. I don’t have it in front of me, but that was my comparison when I did the side-by-side a week or so ago. For $20 and $30 respectively, these are just great values. very good for the '10, very good+ for the '06.
Part of the problem is most young Semillon is pretty uninteresting (not all but many) and the ones that have development tend to (but not always) not get to the right stage later on. There are a growing number of places in the Hunter Valley that are holding back releases of Semillon specifically because they believe it is best after some time in the bottle (like 5+). Very few places want to hold back wine that long…it is a significant investment to do so…especially when the market for it isn’t significant. Completely agree with you though, Semillon would definitely appeal to wine geeks and a lot of people agree…there just isn’t the availability or buzz around it. It doesnt’ help that good Hunter Semillon is extremely difficult to find outside of Australia…
This young wine is not really that complex, but for $20, I think it drinks wonderfully now. You do have to like acid, and I’m sure its presence would be too much for some people at this point (it is a little shrill). For those looking for something rounder and more complex, though, the '06 Oakey Creek (or the '05 Oakey Creek that I had a few months ago) seems like a no-brainer. It is too bad that we have such limited access to these wines here in the US.
Just finished my only bottle of the `07 Brokenwood Semillon. I was told that this vintage was a great one for semillon and my bottle was a delight to drink. Opened with trepidation, light lemon color and some nuttyness and apple on the nose. Pretty good monthfeel on entry, melon, citrus, acidity did not remove the enamel off my teeth! “Light to medium body” from across the table. Previous bottles from other vintages have not shown as well as this one.
Agree with pretty much everything Kevin wrote. Semillon, Hunter or otherwise, is SO much better with 10 or more years of age on it. I’m holding on to some bottles from 04-06 from a couple of producers just because when I tried them young, they resembled more Sauvignon Blanc than anything else.
Thanks Doug,
I have a single bottle of the 2006 Oakey Creek and sounds like it would be a good time to drink it now, probably with fish rather than oysters?
Charles
On a triple digit day, I decided to unscrew a 2014 Brokenwood Semillion [Hunter Valley] with my sibling, since they like zippy, lighter wines. I have not had HVS that I can recall, and I wasn’t sure if this was going to be their liking, so we had a back up bottle of a commercial SB in case. Fortunately, age 8 seems to be a good balancing point between zip, lemon, and verve and the first touches of wax and toast on the nose. It’s very light bodied, and low abv (11%) with a greenish tint to the wine, which I had assumed was the bottle, but it’s actually clear glass. I also pick up some smells of wet slate. This seems like it still has a long life ahead of it, but is drinking nicely now, and change of pace from the bigger, more floral blancs I lean towards. I’d give it a B, but could see fans of this style notching it higher.
