TN: Brokenwood 05 Brycefeld, Belford Vineyards Hunter Valley Semillon - I expected good, and got great from this wine. I think Aussie Semillon is the most underrated of all New World whites, and this reinforces that notion.
At 10+ years from the vintage (and under screwcap) this is still bright, vibrant and intense. Aromas of floral honey, cut wildflower, guava, papaya and all supremely well integrated. Such a beautiful wine to smell.
Middleweight in texture, starts off intense and builds to a lovely long, tropical, citrus, white honey and white flower middle and finish. Outstanding length.
Sounds good Jim. Recent Tyrrell’s Vat 1 was outstanding. Wierd thing is I only drink Hunter Semillon every couple of years, despite a lot of very positive data points. having said that i was given a taste of teh Andrew Thomas Braemore Semillon recently (2015 IIRC) that was outstanding.
“Unduplicated anywhere.” Couldn’t agree more. This wine tastes younger than most 05 White Burgundy, probably younger-ish than most European 05 dry/trocken Riesling. Has a very unique balance of acidity/extract/rihhness/finish and was great with slightly spicy Thai. Still plenty of youth here, but this has spent enough time in bottle where the raw components have integrated. This feels like it is achieving all of its potential now (which is an awesome wine feeling ).
Precisely. I don’t want to pile on here, knowing how difficult these can be to source, but I love these as well and always wish there wer emore of them in the cellar. Brookenwood’s basic sem is a good value in the scheme of things.
I have felt that Brokenwood semillon is a little more forward than other hunter semillons, but that is based on the basic bottling and the ILR? This sounds like it has a little more staying power, but still more forward than SV bottlings from Tyrrells.
Why isn’t it drunk as often as other wines? Limited availability is certainly a cause, but it is also very simplistic when young, that it rarely merits popping one to see how it is progressing. Rather it is best left to sleep for over a decade before contemplating opening. Thus many bottles are tied up in the cellar.
Yes, you are right, Ian, but being more forward (the basic bottling, not the vineyard designates) just means you can drink it younger which is not a bad thing with Hunter Valley semillons.