Barossa Valley, Part 2

 Two more wineries to visit on this short trip to the Barossa; Phase III Wines and Alkina.

The name Phase III refers to the third stage of Ben Kelley's life, when he decided to move to the Barossa to grow truffles, and then wine. However, he has been associated with wine for a long time and along the way got to know Fraser McKinley, the winemaker of Sami-Odi fame. His influence is obvious in a number of ways, for example the port shaped bottles and including wine from more than one vintage.

Ben is more playful, though; grabs fruit from wherever he can, adds Pinot to Shiraz, and generally behaves like a kid in a candy store (not in a bad way). His volume of his key wine, Dero (Australian slang for 'I am nobody') is 250 cases.

I also tasted some more experimental wines. The 2022 Phase III Semillon is an attractive wine. It is barrel fermented and richer and rounder than a young Hunter Valley wine. Yet it is a refreshing wine at 10.5% alcohol with crisp citrus flavours (92 points). The 2023 Phase III Chardonnay comes from High Eden, near Mountadam. The wine has whole bunch and tastes of tropical fruit and spices with a nice acidic backbone. The wine also includes four buckets of frontignac. I did not notice it, but it may have added complexity (92 points).

There was also a 2021 whole bunch Pinot Noir. It was robust and powerful, with red fruits dominating, and a musky and savoury backbone. It was interesting, but did not work too well (86 points).

Then I tried the 2023 Phase III Home Block Shiraz. Ben has now planted three small vineyards, which over time presumably will replace bought fruit. The fruit in this wine comes from 3 (!) year old vines. This seems crazy, and it does not work too well. The fruit is picked early. The wine is fruity, despite 100% whole bunch and one of the lowest alcohol Shirazes in the valley at 12.2% (88 points).

Then we come to the 2023 Phase III Devo, the main wine. The fruit comes from something like 10 vineyards, including two Hoffmann blocks. The bottle is in a bag, in reference to his earlier work in a bottle shop. The philosophy is to pick early and whole bunch to soften the tannins. He wants to make wine to be drunk early. The wine shows pleasant red and black fruit, but no sweetness. The structure is solid (93 points).

I would not be surprised if something stunning will come from this producer one day.  

The final stop is at Alkina. The contrast could not be starker. Serious money has gone into this business. The vineyards around the property have been meticulously analysed, and divided by soil type. This is not unusual in many parts of the world, but not common to this detail in the Barossa Valley. The different plots are called polygons, meaning an area made up of line segments. The focus of Alkina is Grenache and Shiraz. It will be interesting to compare these wines to the McLaren Vale tasted wines.

The first Grenache based wine tasted is a 2024 Alkina Rosé. The wine is matured 50% in stainless steel, 50% in concrete. The wine is light, with beautiful aromatic flower scents, and clean raspberry flavours (93 points).

The entry level Grenache was the 2023 Alkina Kin Grenache. It is a blend from different plots of limestone and schist soil. 100% whole bunch was used, and the wine was matured in 100% concrete, to bring out the fresh fruit. The wine is red fruited and quite soft - an easy drinking wine (92 points).

A big step-up were the two polygon Grenaches, from 2022, a cool vintage. The 2022 Alkina Polygon 3 Grenache comes from a plot of limestone and schist soil. This is an intense and super elegant wine, majestic comes to mind. The acidity is present, but beaten by the weight of the fruit. The silky tannins lead to a very satisfying finish - a superb wine (96 points).

The 2022 Alkina Polygon 5 Grenache comes from heavier soil, fractured schist and clay. And this is reflected in the wine. This wine is bigger, quite fiery. This more savoury wine has a great structure pointing to a long life ahead (96 points).

These two wines were certainly highlights of my week in South Australia. They are superbly crafted, and showing off the different soil profiles really well. 

Then came the Shiraz flight. The 2023 Alkina Birdsong Shiraz is matured in concrete to showcase the pristine red and black fruit. There is elegance and power in this wine, but the wine is not as focused as some (92 points).

The 2022 Alkina Polygon 1 Shiraz comes from a tiny plot of quartzite and schist soil. The colour is very dark, and the nose is big. This is a fiery, but quite dense wine with a long finish. Attractive mulberry flavours stand out (95 points).

And then came a surprise, the new 2023 Alkina Striato. I do not know much about this wine. It was quite a contrast to the Polygon 1. The wine is lighter, lively and red fruited. It has great balance and finishes with firm, but fine grained tannins (95 points).

As previously, this was an excellent tasting experience. Some of the Alkina wines are superb. With its scientific soil approach, could Alkina become an icon Barossa winery? There is one big problem: these polygons are tiny plots, and the resulting wine is made in small volumes. It will simply not be available to many people. This however, should be a criterion for an icon winery. However, if you are lucky enough to get access to some of these wines, enjoy!

This week in South Australia had a strong focus on Grenache. A theory is emerging. The premium Grenaches from Blewitt Springs and Clarendon tend to be fresh and red fruited. Their ph is between 3.0 and 3.35, indicating high acidity. The Grenaches from Alkina have a ph of close to 3.6, indicating lower acidity, largely a function of the warmer climate. These wines still have some freshness, but fruit intensity and some dark fruit flavours are also characteristic. So it seems ph levels can predict key components of the Grenache flavour.

 

  

Barossa, Part 2

 The main purpose of my visit this time is to get to know some of the newer wineries and their wine styles. Eperosa is a small operation by winemaker Brett Grocke. It shot to some fame when Brett Grocke was named winemaker of the year by James Halliday in 2021. Most wines come from the two owned vineyards in Krondorf and the Magnolia vineyard in Vine Vale. He makes mainly Semillon and the Rhone varieties. I will cover the most important wines below.

The 2020 Magnolia 1941 Semillon is grown in deep sand (as is common in the Hunter). The wine spent 16 months on lees and is barrel fermented. This means it is getting quite a bit of treatment. Lemon and oyster shell flavours lead to a bigger texture than often associated with Semillon. There is some slight oxidation in this wine. It has some waxiness on the back palate. I found this an attractive style (92 points).

The leading Grenache is the 2020 Stonegarden 1858 Grenache. As is the case with fruit from the Hoffmann vineyard in Ebenezer, suddenly everybody wants fruit from this old Springton, Eden Valley vineyard. The vineyard is high altitude, with rocky soil. This wine is red fruited, as you would expect, with red cola flavours. It also has a dark presence with licorice notes. I must say I expected more from this (92 points).

The most important wines are the Shiraz wines from the Magnolia vineyard. It sits at the base of Menglers Hill at over 300m altitude. A number of gullies run through the property and split the vineyard into distinctive blocks, planted at different times. The soils vary, with deep sand the most common.

The 2020 Magnolia 1965 Shiraz comes from the highest part of the vineyard. It is farmed organically. It is quite a concentrated wine, with violet notes, blue fruited (similar to Eden Valley) with some iron flavours, and very elegant. Brett compared the wine to Cornas (94 points).

The 2020 Magnolia 1896 Shiraz is grown on rockier soil. Again, it is blue fruited and shows an ethereal elegance, which one seems to only get from very old vines. The tannins are fine and the finish long (95 points).

I enjoyed the two flagship wines. They taste more like Eden Valley than Barossa Valley. The other wines are fine, but not so special (except for the Semillon).

The next stop was Alkina. Alkina is the talk of the valley right now. The 60ha property near Greenock was purchased by Argentinian billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni about 10 years ago. He also owns wineries in Argentina, Uruguay, France, USA and Italy. 6ha on the property was planted in 1950. Another 37ha have been planted by now, some parts going back to 1970, some only a few years old. The vineyard is managed biodynamically, and extraction in the winery is on the light side. Significant investment in concrete eggs, Italian Amphorae and Georgian Qveri give the winery a look unlike any other in the Barossa Valley.

The entry level wines from young vines are called Kin. I tasted the 2022 Semillon, and the 2021 Grenache and Mataro from this range. The Semillon is fuller bodied than the Hunter wines. The reds show great typicity. There is great freshness and fruit purity in these wines (92-93 points).

I did not like the 2020 Birdsong Shiraz much. It was matured in old foudres. The wine is very fruity, followed by drying tannins (89 points).

I now need to talk about the Polygon project. Electro conductivity mapping technology has been used on the original 6ha vineyard to separate out in fine detail different soil types. This is done by sending electromagnetic impulses into the ground. This project is lead by Chilean soil scientist Pedro Parra and Italian winemaker Alberto Antonini. Based on the mapping, a number of soil pits are excavated. Different profiles were identified. These small blocks now form the basis for individual wines. It is expected they will show differences, depending on the schist, clay, limestone and quartzite compositions.

The first wine I taste from this area is a blend, however: the classic GSM. The 60% Grenache comes from Polygon 4, comprising clay and degraded schist. It is called 2020 Old Quarter. The wine is fresh, very elegant, pretty, and complex. It is very balanced between components, which have 70-100% whole bunch. There is excellent minerality on the finish (95 points).

The 2019 Polygon 5 Grenache is made in a similar way. The soil is schist with clay and iron. It translates into a firmer structure. This is a dark and elegant wine with intense raspberry and red plum flavours.  The tannins are very fine (95 points). This is supposed to contrast with the Polygon 3 Grenache. These wines are made in minuscule quantities, and unfortunately, no more Polygon 3 was available. The 2019 Polygon 1 Shiraz comes from a schist  and quartzite block. This is a bigger wine, blackberry, mocca, and licorice flavours, with firm and chalky tannins (95 points). There will never be much of these wines, we are talking about 50 cases each.

Overall, Alkina is an innovator, bringing something new to the Barossa. The wines are positioned on the beginning of the ripeness spectrum, with great fruit purity and finesse.

 

Tyrrell's Belford Semillon

The 2014 Tyrrell’s Belford Semillon was the perfect wine  on a 38 degree Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) day. This Semillon comes from an isolated vineyard in the Hunter Valley with sandy soil and surrounded by trees. It is unusual in the stable of Tyrrell’s  Semillons. The flavours and texture are similar to Chablis, not the more common closeness to Riesling.

Thi wine, from a great vintage, has excellent energy and drive. Lime flavours and minerality dominate on the palate. This wine is still very fresh and will only mellow around year 12, I think. So far, there are only primary fruit characteristics on the palate. The wine is perhaps a little bit raw, but I liked it a lot, in particular the penetrating finish.

Score: 94/+++
 

Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon

By accident I tasted another wine from Andrew Thomas from 2009. Semillon is the best ageing white wine in Australia, and the 2009 Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon, from an excellent sandy site in the Hunter Valley, is a prime example.

The colour of this wine is still more green than golden. However, the wine has turned from 'acid water' to a well balanced wine. Lime flavours still dominate, but light toast flavours are emerging. The acidity is well integrated, keeping the wine fresh.

This wine is delicious now, but will easily go for another 10 years plus.

Score: 94/+++

Eperosa Magnolia Blanc

Adjustments have occurred in the Barossa for some time, but the focus has mainly been on red wine. Now I have come across something interesting in white wine.

Eperosa is a small producer. Their white wine is 100% Semillon, but is called Blanc, maybe to indicate the treatment is a bit different from most Australian Semillon. The wine comes from the Magnolia vineyard in Vine Vale, characterized by deep sandy soil, similar to the best Hunter Valley locations. The vines are at least 45 years old.

I am tasting the 2017 Eperosa Magnolia Blanc. This wine has a brilliant golden colour, quite different from the often light green in Semillon, no doubt as a result of being barrel fermented. On the nose, there is lemon, but also hints of tropical fruit. The palate is quite complex and layered for a young wine, with citrus and peach dominating. The acidity is firm, but there is also some smoothness in this excellently structured wine.

This wine is good now, but will settle down a bit more in a couple of years and improve for ten years plus.

Score: 94/+++

Henschke Louis Semillon

The Hunter Valley is regarded as the cradle of Semillon, but occasionally great Semillon is made in the Barossa. Peter Lehmann's Semillon is the best known. These Semillons tend to be more generous, offering a fuller mouthfeel than those from the Hunter.

 I tasted a 10 year old Semillon from Eden Valley a couple of days ago, the 2009 Henschke Louis Semillon. This is not a well known wine in the Henschke stable of wines, but maybe it should be. The fruit comes from the Henschke home block.

Similar to the Mount Pleasant Lovedale I reviewed a few days ago, the colour is starting to fill out golden, but is only beginning to do so. It is therefore no surprise that primary fruit is still very present. The citrus is more lemon here rather than lime. It is still a fresh wine with a good acid profile. The wine is on the leaner side, unlike the typical Barossa profile.  This Louis is well balanced and was enjoyable to drink.

92/++

Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon

The Lovedale vineyard is one of the top five Semillon vineyards in the Hunter Valley, with its vines now 70 years old; this 2007 Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon only 12 years. As the label shows, this wine won many trophies on release.

Semillon can age incredibly well. 12 years is only mid-range. The colour of the wine has started to turn golden, maybe a little earlier than some. The citrus aromas are strong.

Lime flavours dominate the palate still, but some toasty notes are starting to show. This Semillon is a little broad on the palate. I would have wished for more acidity.

This wine is probably in transition, and I have opened it at an unlucky time. It misses freshness, but has not developed a mature profile yet.

Score: 90/0

Tyrrell's Masterclass (Part 1)

As part of the Wine Media Conference in the Hunter Valley, a group of 20 participated in an extensive Masterclass with Chris Tyrrell. It started off in their cellars with a review of Semillon.

Yours truly, 3rd from right

This was a very exciting tasting, as Tyrrell's have four of the five best Semillon vineyards in the Hunter, which may mean in the world.

The first part was a vertical tasting of the famous VAT 1 Semillon. It is a blend of three vineyards, the Short Flat, Johnnos, and Debeyers, with vines up to 110 years old. The Short Flat is the key vineyard.

The 2019 VAT 1 Semillon has lifted and floral characteristics. The citrus flavous and acidity deliver a good linear drive to a balanced finish. The wine has been left on lees for 6 weeks and is inoculated by 'neutral' yeast (95 points).

The 2009 VAT 1 Semillon, 10 years on, still has a light colour, and is crisp on the front palate, but is starting to get some nutty flavours (95 points).

The colour has turned golden with the 1998 VAT 1 Semillon. Almond and toast flavours now dominate. This wine is broader on the palate, but not oily or heavy (94 points).

Drinking these wines next to each other shows the clear line which links them. Even more exciting to me was the comparison of the single vineyard semillons from the almost perfect 2014 vintage.

First up was the 2014 Stevens Semillon (12% alc.) from a vineyard planted in 1911. This vineyard has darker soil than the other Semillon vineyards, and the grapes ripen here first. The resulting wine is the most delicate, quite light, with minerality and some notes of slate, almost like a German Riesling. There is good energy in this wine (95 points).

The 2014 Semillon from the famous 1908 HVD vineyard (10.5% alc.) is grown on free draining sandy soil. This vineyard is cropped at a higher level (not sure what). The result is a broader wine with a bigger mouthfeel (93 points). 

And finally the 2014 Belford Semillon (10.5% alc.) from a secluded vineyard in the north, planted in 1933. This vineyard is based on broken-down sandy soil, which feels almost like talcum powder, according to Tyrrell's, and is cropped at 1.5-2t/acre. The vines here get minimal nutrition, and the grapes are picked last. The result is a more intense, slightly honeyed Semillon, a bit like a Chardonnay. I liked this Semillon the best (95 points).

So here were three Semillons from the same year, and different vineyards, with very different expressions and characteristics. This really only comes clear in such a comparative tasting.

What Did We Drink This Christmas?

In some years, I splash out on Christmas drinks. This year, we had good quality wine, but nothing outrageous pricewise. The 2016 Juniper Estate Tempranillo went well with some ham. The cherry flavours were fresh and very lively, although there is not much depth to this wine.

The highlights on Christmas Day were two wines from the not very special 2007 vintage. The 2007 Kreglinger (formerly Pipers Brook) Vintage Sparkling was a perfect complement to the prawns with good depth and yeasty notes matching the effervescence of this Sparkling. This is a top quality Sparkling, matching high quality Champagne. But the real highlight was a 2007 Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon. If I am not mistaken, this is the most highly decorated wine in Australia. Not that I am a big advocate for wine shows and medals as a guide for quality. The wine was still fresh, but started to develop hazelnut and honey notes which went perfectly with the white fish and rich salad.

On Boxing Day, it was time for more red wine. The choices were a 2009 Thomas Wines Kiss Shiraz from the Hunter Valley and a special 2004 Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz from Magnum. The former started to display beautiful velvety tannins, and the latter the typical Henschke Shiraz profile of mulberry and aniseed. 

Now, more importantly, what did you drink for Christmas? I have readers from all over the world. Don't be shy. What did you enjoy, what was disappointing? I want you all to write in.

Silkman Reserve Semillon

Very few new wineries in the Hunter Valley have managed to reach the top echelon occupied by Brokenwood, Tyrells and Mount Pleasant for a long time. The last winery was Thomas Wines. Silkman, however, may get there. The very talented Liz Silkman, who was the successful winemaker at First Creek for a number of years, continues to craft excellent Shiraz, Chardonnay and Semillon.

This is a review of the 2015 Silkman Reserve Semillon. This wine is a bigger style than some others from the Hunter Valley. The wine has good drive, despite the bigger, lime fruited mouthfeel. There is enough acidity to give the wine a solid structure, and the finish is quite long for Semillon.

I suggest to drink this wine while young.

Score: 93/++ 

Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon

Pretty much all Hunter Semillon ages quite well. The good wines retain their balance over time. How does the 2005 Thomas Braemore Semillon shape up?

The colour of this screw capped wine is light golden, still very lively. On the palate, the lime flavours are still strong, but some light nutty flavours, almond and hazelnut, are emerging. The fruit is perfectly balanced with acidity. The wine is medium-bodied for a Semillon. It is still refreshing, with strong minerality showing through, and a balanced finish. This wine will improve in complexity over many years.

Score: 94/++

Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon

Australian Semillon is typically associated with the Hunter Valley, where it is a signature grape. Not many know that the highest volume Semillon in the country is bottled by Peter Lehmann, from Barossa fruit. There is a fair bit of Semillon in the Barossa Valley.

Torbreck's entry level is the Woodcutter's range. Today, I am reviewing the 2014 Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon from the Barossa Valley. The colour is a deeper golden than Hunter Valley Semillon. There is more flavour complexity on the palate. Next to citrus, pineapple and grapefruit flavours emerge. This is a fuller, richer Semillon (it is Torbreck after all), yet it has retained some freshness. The wine does not have much acidity, yet is well balanced at present. The finish is relatively short, but I enjoyed the wine.

Whereas Hunter Valley Semillon is best enjoyed with fish, in particular sashimi, I would suggest this wine to go particularly well with salads. Best to drink now, while fresh.

Score: 89/++ 

My Favorite White Wine Quaffers

I normally don't play favorites, but I thought I share with you my current day-to-day white wine preferences. These are wines of excellent quality at $20/bottle or less prices.

When it comes to Riesling, Polish Hill in Clare Valley is an exceptional subregion, mainly due to Grosset. But if you don't want to fork out that kind of money, there is O'Leary Walker Polish Hill Riesling. This is an excellent wine for less than half price.

If your choice is Semillon, an easy to drink wine is the Mount Pleasant Elizabeth. I would not drink this from every vintage, but the current wine comes from the excellent 2014 vintage.

Finding a sub $20 bargain for Chardonnay is harder, but I experienced two excellent wines in this category. Both are difficult to find, though. The first is the Pfitzner Chardonnay. It is a grower wine from the Adelaide Hills. Its fruit has gone into the Petaluma Chardonnay, and its style is similar, maybe a little fuller. The second is the le Versant Chardonnay from Southern France, outstanding for its price.

All these wines are in the citrus spectrum and basically dry, with maybe a tiny sugar residual. I recommend them highly.

Hunter Valley Visit

Recently I spent a day in the Hunter Valley and visited a number of wineries on a quick tour.

I started at Mistletoe, where I tasted their white wines, specifically the 2014 Reserve Semillon and Reserve Chardonnay. These were disappointing, in what was an excellent year. I found the winemaking skills lacking, as the wines were not very well structured. (88 points). The 2013 Keith Tulloch Semillon was only marginally better, with nice fruit, but lacking focus and finesse (89 points).

De Iuliis is mainly known for Shiraz, but the 2014 Sunshine Vineyard Semillon was quite a rounded wine, although not of particular character (90 points). The 2013 Shiraz is bright, red fruited and of medium body. The oak is noticeable, the mouthfeel not particularly fulfilling (90 points). The 2011 Limited Release Shiraz is bright red also, but with more fruit intensity and some silky tannins on the finish (92 points). The day is starting to look up (a little).

At Tyrell's, the 2015 Semillon has typical citrus  flavours, but the wine falls over the cliff on the back palate (89 points). The 2010 HVD Semillon, from a vineyard on Hermitage Road, is remarkably fresh for its age, the citrus flavours are quite focussed and deliver length on the palate (92 points). The 2010 Vat 1 Semillon, their premium Semillon, delivers. The wine is very crisp, yet elegant. The wine has good depth and is well balanced, while a bit soft on the finish (94 points). I was not so impressed with the premium 2011 Vat 47 Chardonnay. While this is a good quality wine, oak should not be so dominant after four years (92 points). The sometimes quite impressive Vat 9 Shiraz was less so on this occasion. I thought the 2011 was underripe (88 points).

A very strong wine was the Thomas Wines 2015 Braemore Semillon, a worthy successor to the 2014. This is a bigger Semillon, with lime fruit dominating. The wine has a beautiful line and balance and a long finish (94 points).

My final stop was at Brokenwood. I felt the 2014 Semillon lacked focus, but the 2009 ILR Semillon was impressive. There was a strong core of lemon flavours and a long finish (94 points). The 2013 Hunter Valley Shiraz was a typical wine for the region, with red plum flavours and reasonable depth, but it was a little harsh (90 points). The 2013 Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz had more intensity, with plum fruit, but also red berries. The tannins are silky on a long finish. The wine is not as lush as in some other years (93 points).

If you want to bring the issue of Hunter Valley wines to a point, it is this: The Semillon, the Hunter's claim to fame, suffers from sameness, a bit like Chablis does in France. It is difficult to carve out a personal style. And with Shiraz, it is often underripe and needs to be helped out of the glass.

Brokenwood Semillon

The 2007 Brokenwood Semillon still has a lime green colour. This translates to lime and citrus on the palate. The wine is very clean and frankly delicious. It has great balance between fruit and acidity and after seven years, does not show much development (under screwcap, stored 12 to 14 degrees).

We all wonder why Semillon is not more popular. One reason could be that there is no obvious best food match. However, this one went extremely well with an acidic green salad a la Ottolenghi, involving quite a bit of lemon curd. Perfect and straight forward.

Score: 92/++

Thomas Wines New Releases

The recent tasting of the Andrew Thomas wines yielded some unexpected results.

The Semillons are from 2014. Overall, they are more open and generous than the steely wines from 2013. I tasted the 2014 Thomas OC Semillon, which I found very crisp and delicious (93 points). The 2014 Thomas Braemore Semillon showed lime flavours and delivered a bigger mouthfeel, but I found it less pure than the OC (92 points). There was also a 2008 Thomas Braemore Semillon to taste. The colour was still fresh and light, but  the expected honey and toast flavours were emerging on the palate (92 points).

The reds I tasted were from the 2011 vintage. In the Hunter, that year escaped the worst rains which were experienced in South Australia and Victoria. I really enjoyed the 2011 Thomas Sweetwater Shiraz. It showed redcurrant fruit and had opened up nicely. This wine is very approachable now, with spice and velvety tannins producing a very pleasant mouthfeel (93 points). The 2011 Thomas Kiss Shiraz is a wine for longe term cellaring. It is quite firm at this stage. The flavours are pure, with red cherry dominant and good length on the finish (93 points).  

Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon

The 2013 Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon is getting the highest point score I have ever given to a Semillon. The colour of this wine is a pale straw colour. The wine is very crisp on the palate, with an intense citrus and lime flavour. The wine is very precise and linear, leading to a clean finish. This is a step up from the very good previous years. This wine is perfectly balanced and will last for at least 15 years, obviously changing its character to more honeyed flavours over time.

I could not think of a better expression of this grape. Why don't I score it 100 points? Because Semillon cannot deliver the complexity of some other grapes. But as a summer wine, with oysters, fish or salads, this is perfect.

Score: 95/+++

Thomas Braemore Semillon

Only two Semillons make the Langton's clissification. Andrew Thomas belongs there, too, in my opinion. In the meantime, you can enjoy his wine for much less than the others.

The 2010 Thomas Braemore Semillon comes in the typical lime and citrus spectrum. What impresses about this wine is the piercing linearity of the palate profile. It has a combination of fruit intensity and minerality not dissimilar to a Chablis premier cru. The finish is bone dry without plucking your mouth.

There is still a lot of primary fruit on the palate. This wine will live for a long, long time.

Score: 93/+++

Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon

One of the natural food and wine matches for me are seared tuna and aged Semillon.  Bruce Tyrell said not long ago that he owned four of the five best Semillon vineyards in the Hunter Valley, and one day he will own the 5th. It is relatively safe to speculate that the 5th vineyard he was referring to was the Braemore vineyard. The mature vines of this outstanding vineyard live on sandy alluvial flats near Hermitage Road.

Yesterday I had the 2005 Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon. Andrew Thomas has been the new bright star in the Hunter, so no wonder that the combination of outstanding fruit source and winemaker produces high quality wines. This now seven year old wine is still very fresh and even zesty. Complexity is not really what Semillon can deliver, but this wine has great purity and balance. Toasty characters are only just starting to come through. In terms of what I was looking for, I opened this wine 3 to 5 years too early. It showed in this slightly awkward window between fresh characteristics and mellowing. No doubt, it has the structure to live for a long time.

Score: 92/++

Cullen vs. Moss Wood

By chance, I had an opportunity to taste recent releases by Cullen and Moss Wood within three days. As it happened, these wines were a very similar line-up, so I thought I might put short reviews side by side. One thing to point out is that in a couple of cases, the Cullen wines are released a year younger, but all the vintages represented are pretty good.

1) Semillon

The 2011 Cullen Sauvignon Blanc Semillon was no doubt picked very young. It tastes almost like grape juice. The wine is very fresh and clean (86 points). The 2011 Moss Wood Semillon is richer, with a focus on texture and a mineral finish. This style is more Barossa than Hunter Valley (88 points). Both wines would not be my picks of this variety.

2) Chardonnay

The 2010 Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay tastes of a complex set of fruits: citrus, peach and passion fruit are prominent. The wine is quite fruity and I am missing the structure of earlier vintages (89 points). The 2009 Moss Wood Chardonnay is a step up in the Chardonnay stakes for this producer. The flavour is similar to the Cullen, but with more weight. 40% new oak adds creaminess to the wine, but it is well balanced with sufficient acidity on the finish (92 points).

3) Cabernet/Merlot

The second Cabernet label of both producers is disappointing. In previous years, some provided great value for money. The  2010 Cullen Cabernet Merlot is fruity, with a short finish (85 points). The 2010 Moss Wood Amy's Cabernet Blend includes 20% of Petit Verdot. As a result, the wine is quite inky, fruit forward, with a flat mouthfeel and a short finish (86 points).

4) Cabernet Sauvignon

I reviewed the 2010 Cullen Diana Madeline in detail on 11 June, no need to repeat this here. For the 2009 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, it is early days yet. Blackcurrant flavours dominate. There is mulberry and some attractive spice. This wine is much more extracted than the Cullen. Some reviewers may find this too much, but I like the rich fruit and ripe tannins in this wine. Will it be an all time great, as claimed by Keith Mugford? I am not going there, yet, but I will enjoy reviewing the wine again in a few years time (94 points).

Cullen and Moss Wood are the pinnacle of Margaret River wines (add Leeuwin Chardonnay). On this basis, these tastings were a little disappointing. Only the flagship wines were really good, without being classics, in my view. You make a clear choice between producers. Cullen is about freshness and linearity, Moss Wood about fruit concentration and weight.