Brokenwood Semillon 2000

I can’t remember why I decided to buy at least four bottles of this and place them in the cellar. It must have shown promise on release. Either that, or I found it at a ridiculously low price and made an impulse purchase. It’s been known to happen. Anyway, here we are eight years later and I think it’s time I checked on its progress. Still relatively pale in colour, showing hints of richer hay in amongst the fresh green hues. Mercifully, not corked. Subtle aromas of sharp citrus with a touch of the aged honey character that one anticipates in an aged Hunter Semillon. But it’s hardly a full-blown aged aroma profile. The palate is disappointingly dilute, and I don’t know whether the wine is going through a “phase,” or if it lacks sufficient intensity of flavour to become a satisfying mature style. Entry shows remnants of the spritzy acidity of a young Hunter Semillon, but this quickly trails off to a smoother, slightly waxy mouthfeel. Again, there are hints of the aged flavour profile; honey, lanolin, beeswax, etc; but there’s also easygoing citrus attributable to an easygoing youth. It’s all attractive enough, but somehow watery too, and I found myself reaching for flavour but never getting enough to feel satisfied. I’m not sure if I’ll bother leaving the rest of the stash to mature further. Well, maybe one as an experiment. The rest, I’ll drink soonish and enjoy what is an easy quaffing style that doesn’t ask a lot of the drinker (and doesn’t give too much in return).BrokenwoodPrice: $A20ishClosure: CorkDate tasted: June 2008

Vasse Felix Classic Dry White 2007

You see this everywhere. It’s easy to find in pretty much any bottle shop fridge and turns up with alarming regularity at BBQs, Summer lunches, etc. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s good or bad — it does, though, mean you’re probably going to have a glass or two of it sometime soon…
More than those from some other regions, Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blends from the Margaret River can tread a fine line between fresh astringency and overbearing grassiness. They don’t usually suffer, though, from a personality deficit. So smelling and tasting this wine came as somewhat of a surprise. It’s pretty on the nose — ultra clean, a bit tropical, a bit herbal. But lacking in intensity and character.
The palate is all quite correct, with relatively soft acidity (for the style) that enters freshly and pushes lightly tropical fruit along with zip. There’s not much grass or herb here; it’s definitely an easygoing, unchallenging flavour profile. The biggest surprise for me is the lack of intensity of flavour. It tastes almost watery on the mid-palate, and this, combined with its flavour profile, turns the wine into a bit of a non-event. It’s just not especially interesting. For the price, I would expect more.
Vasse FelixPrice: A$18Closure: StelvinDate tasted: March 2008

Tyrrell's Vat 1 2007

Having tasted a couple of other current vintage Private Bin whites in previous weeks, I was interested to see how the flagship Vat 1 fared in 2007. The Belford and Stevens wines seemed broader and more approachable than usual. Very pale with excellent clarity. The nose is an interesting mixture of high toned, almost powdery citrus fruit with waxed pears and more generous tropical notes. Good complexity. It’s quite expressive and certainly attractive; whether it’s especially “typical” is another question. The entry is gentle and builds, both structurally and in terms of intensity, towards the mid-palate. Here we have a forward mix of lemon/lime notes with hints of the tropical fruit shown on the nose. Acidity is certainly lively and it provides really good flow through the palate, but stops short of the sort of searingly intense structure seen in Hunter Semillons of a more classical bent. Flavour extends well into the after palate, and the wine’s length is extremely impressive.Rather than criticise this wine for what it isn’t, I’ll celebrate its pleasures: here we have an approachable, sophisticated young wine of good structure and length. As it sat in the glass, I could detect hints of the honeyed pleasure to come, but I’d say this is a medium term cellaring proposition at most — nothing should stop you enjoying this wine now.Tyrrell’sPrice: $A35Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Lindemans Early Harvest Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

As I was handed a plastic picnic cup full of Verdelho yesterday, I reflected that not all wines are intended to demand the full attention of the drinker. A lot of wines are crafted and marketed for their lifestyle value. The new Lindemans “Early Harvest” range is a good example. From what I can tell, it’s the vinous equivalent of low carb beer, “30% less alcohol, 30% less calories” trumpeted proudly on the front label and through the back label text. Fair enough, I could stand to lose a kilo or ten, and I do enjoy lower alcohol wines for their practicality.Very pale green colour, good clarity. The nose is of adequate intensity and presents simple aromas of passionfruit, tropical florals and a bit of capsicum. Nothing challenging, but at least it smells of something pretty. On entry, two things become apparent: there’s not much acid, and the lower alcohol is presumably due, in part, to a moderate amount of residual sugar. These two factors create a rather flabby experience on the middle palate, the sugar propping up and adding body to the wine’s dilute aromatic fruit and slightly grassy flavour profile. The after palate slips away to an interesting, not entirely pleasant, chalky finish. I’m not sure the value in considering this wine in terms of absolute quality, as it will be chosen, I suspect, on the basis of its other attributes. Fair enough. Just don’t think about it too hard as you’re drinking. If this wine works well in the market, I wonder if it’s naive for me to suggest the time for quality off-dry Riesling styles could be near? I wish.LindemansPrice: $A14Closure: StelvinDate tasted: January 2008

Tyrrell's Vat 63 Chardonnay Semillon 2007

Is there anything more terminally daggy than the Semillon Chardonnay blend? Perhaps the mullet, but even that seems to enjoy periods of resurgent popularity. Which is a shame, because the mullet really does deserve a good, long rest. This wine, however, is bloody nice. According to the back label, the Chardonnay and Semillon were separately vinified, then blended prior to bottling.

Tyrrell's Vat 4 Stevens Semillon 2007

I keep most of my wine in storage in Sydney. As I am in Brisbane, this means (embarrassingly) regular shipments to the Sunshine State to replenish local stocks. The upside of this is that I get to put together mixed dozens from cellar stock, a task that generates some excitement whenever I’m called upon to perform it. It’s a bit like online shopping without the bill (of course, this a ridiculous way of looking at it, as I’ve already been slugged for the wine months, perhaps years, prior). Anyway, the point of this rambling is that I haven’t been drinking much Hunter Semillon of late, which is totally uncharacteristic. To remedy this, I made sure to include a couple of recent releases in my latest “aid drop” (as I like to think of my wine shipments), the first of which I am sitting down to this evening.


A forward, expressive nose (for young Hunter Semillon) that shows striking powdery citrus and soapy notes, along with perhaps a hint of tropical sweetness. Well balanced and attractive. Entry is immediate and of good impact due to the wine’s acidity, which sizzles from the very tip of the tongue. From here, the wine softens a little and flows to a generous middle palate of lemon juice and some more of that tropical fruit. There are also some musky notes and a bit of herbal astringency too. Although the fruit is full and relatively gentle, the wine’s acidity is still quite prominent, creating a sherbet-like effect. I can’t decide whether the acid is a bit disjointed or just slightly unbalanced considering the softness of the fruit. Either way, it’s not a huge deal. The after palate tightens and becomes more sourly astringent (I liked it), leading to a clean, dry finish of decent length.

A very slight question mark over the acid, then, but I have to say, I really enjoyed this wine. It’s clean and full, with good complexity for a young Semillon thanks to those tropical notes. A real step up from the Lost Block tasted the other day, and at the price it’s sensational value. I guess you could try and age this one if you wanted, but personally I’d drink it young. Pair with canapes or a club sandwich.

Tyrrell's Lost Block Semillon 2007

I’m a big fan of the Tyrrell’s Semillon portfolio, and enjoy the Stevens, Vat 18 and Vat 1 examples with satisfying regularity. I’ve also enjoyed the Lost Block Semillon in the past, not least for its more affordable price. Picked up a bottle of the 2007 at the local bottlo and cracked it tonight to have with dinner.


A confident nose of powdery citrus, flinty minerals and some underlying sulfur. It’s a bit one-dimensional but it’s also attractively firm and characterful. The entry is lively thanks to some good quality acidity that drives flavour right on to the middle palate. Medium bodied, this wine shows more lively citrus and floral notes on the palate. The acidity is worth pondering for a moment, as to my taste it is cleverly balanced to create an immediately drinkable wine. There’s none of the austerity here that one might encounter in a young “cellaring style” of Semillon. No, this wine is all about enjoyment right now, and the acidity is soft enough to play along. The wine slips along to a slightly hollow after palate, then to a finish that lingers delicately, with some slight sweetness showing.

Clever winemaking here. It’s a wine that knows what it’s for — consumption in its youth, with food, well chilled. Great summer quaffing wine.

Price: $A14
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: January 2008

Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 1996

These were on special at cellar door a year or so back — apparently there’s an issue with sticking corks. No such problem last night; in fact, the cork came out a little too easily and was quite wet. There were signs of leakage under the capsule, so I was prepared for the worst.

I remember having a bottle of the 1995 Lovedale some years ago and finding it at an excellent stage of its development. Gloriously waxy mouthfeel, flavours of lanolin and honey, just gorgeous. What’s amazing about the 1996 is how relatively undeveloped it is, at over ten years of age.

On the nose, toasty notes betray some bottle age, along with hints of sweet honey, and that peculiar cork (as opposed to “corked”) flavour that a lot of aged Semillons have. Relatively reserved, but complex and beautiful. The wine’s entry sizzles with spritzy CO2 and leads to a focused mid-palate of delicious, complex flavours that echo the nose. More toast, caramel and delicate honeyed notes sit alongside residual signs of the wine’s youthful citrus flavours. It has the beginnings of that distinctive waxy mouthfeel that so pleased my palate with the 1995 wine. The wine’s sweet, aged flavours linger with satisfying persistence.

Acid, though, remains a defining feature of this wine’s structure and it is still a fairly dominant presence. I can only imagine what this wine was like as a youngster. I prefer to drink aged Semillons in the full flower of their maturity, and am eager to experience this wine again in a few years’ time, when the aged flavours will, I hope, display greater intensity and complexity.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant
Price: $A30
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: November 2007