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Vineyards mostly in the Mount View sub-region of the Hunter Valley, and all at 130-180m above sea level, so a little cooler than is typical. The extreme heat of the Hunter is avoided and wines of elegance and fruit clarity can be produced. Additional high quality vineyards in Hilltops, Orange and Wrattonbully.
Low yields, generally between 1 and 2.5 tonnes per acre. A series of exceptional single vineyard sites, including Dairy Hill, Briar Hill and Red Hill. Vines at up to 45 years of age.
Quality winemakers: Gwyn Olsen (now winemaker for Henschke was senior winemaker until 2022) and Andrew Duff, a former Len Evans Scholar, is the current winemaker.
This week I am sipping on a Semillon from First Creek in the Hunter Valley. Semillon is a thing of beauty really. Drunk young it's fresh with juicy acidity, apple, pear, and loads of bright citrus notes. Kept in the cellar and it will reward you in 5, 10, and 20 years. As it develops it gets (I think) a little grassy, the acidity is less prominent and notes of honey start to form. Pick this up from winedirect.com.au at a bargain of $22 a bottle and the only thing you will complain about is having not bought 6-12 bottles!
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and here in Australia. The history of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent of South Africa's vineyards, where it was known as Wyndruif, meaning "wine grape".
Sémillon is widely grown in Australia, particularly in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney, where for a long time it was known as "Hunter River Riesling". Four styles of Sémillon-based wines made there: a commercial style, often blended with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc; a sweet style, after that of Sauternes; a complex, minerally, early picked style which has great longevity; and an equally high quality,dry style, which can be released soon after vintage, as a vat or bottle aged example. (Hunter Valley Semillon is never matured in oak.) The latter two styles were pioneered by Lindemans, Tulloch, McWilliam's
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