Expert’s Choice: Hunter Valley Semillon

The dry white Semillon of Hunter Valley is one of the wine world’s greatest secrets. It has a devoted following among those consumers who have discovered it and it’s revered by the winemakers of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; yet it goes curiously uncelebrated in much of the wider world.

The Hunter Valley – a two-hour drive north of Sydney – is Australia’s oldest continuing wine region, becoming established in the 1830s. Semillon is believed to have been grown there from the start, although it wasn’t always given its correct name, its wines being labelled variously as Shepherd’s Riesling, Rhine Gold and Chablis, among others.

As with Chenin Blanc in the middle Loire, Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Nebbiolo in Piedmont’s Langhe, there are few places on the globe where Semillon excels as it does in the Hunter.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 18 exquisite Semillons from the Hunter Valley

Old vines on poor soils

Key to its success are the poor, white, sandy soils of ancient river beds where the best Semillon grapes are grown. These soils are low in fertility and well drained. Many vines are more than a century old and unirrigated, and their roots go deep.

In particular, the area along the rather ill-named Hermitage Road in Pokolbin is where Tyrrell’s, Keith Tulloch, Thomas Wines, Pepper Tree and others source their most prized grapes.

Fruit from vineyards such as Braemore, Casuarina, Trevena, Tyrrells’ HVD and Keith Tulloch’s Field of Mars is highly valued by winemakers and keenly sought where available to buy. This area is what Keith Tulloch refers to as Pokolbin’s ‘grand cru strip’ of the Hunter Valley.

The Hunter isn’t a cool-climate region – its relatively northern latitude and low altitude (roughly 50m-250m) mitigate against that – but its proximity to the sea (the Pacific ocean is less than 40km from Cessnock) and extensive cloud cover moderate the climate.

On the other hand, it can be quite wet during the ripening season, so the fact that Semillon is harvested early works in its favour.

Young and old

Hunter Semillon at its best isn’t grassy or herbaceous when young, but scented with lemon juice, lemongrass and fragrant herbs. It’s delicate, restrained and refreshing, with appetising acidity and low alcohol: normally between 10% and 12%.

Fermented dry and not usually wood-aged, it makes a stimulating aperitif wine and also goes well with a wide range of delicate foods, such as crustaceans and other shellfish, finned fish, salads and vegetable dishes.

It ages superbly, for up to 20 years or more, and the more committed producers release semi-mature Semillon (usually at about five years old) annually, alongside their most recent vintages.

As Semillon ages, the colour deepens and the bouquet becomes more complex: toasty and honeyed, sometimes with buttery traces and often veering into the roasted hazelnuts more commonly seen in aged Chardonnay. The palate also puts on weight and richness, but without losing its essential finesse and appetising qualities.

Tyrrell’s, Mount Pleasant and Brokenwood are the three top-level producers, closely followed by Keith Tulloch, McGuigan, Silkman, First Creek, Vinden, Gundog, Briar Ridge, Pepper Tree, Margan and Audrey Wilkinson, all of whom are right up there.

Mount Eyre, Leogate, De Iuliis, Tamburlaine, David Hook, Usher Tinkler, Saddler’s Creek, Scarborough, Tintilla, Hart & Hunter and Allandale also produce fine examples.

Sadly, many of those bottles can only be found in Australia. Even finding enough wineries that export Semillon to the UK for this report was difficult. While other markets, such as Scandinavia, do import Hunter Semillon, it remains a niche variety.

Let’s hope that more people will discover its pleasures.

Huon Hooke’s pick of Hunter Valley Semillon:

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