Grand Cru (Perth WA) March tasting

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

A number of us collected at the Terrace Hotel in Perth for a tasting of a varietal we had not covered before – Semillon. Not blends, just the naked Semillon grape.

Wines were tasted in order from youngest to oldest, with a difference of 19 years between the extremes. Although all the wines were Australian, we experienced a range of regions and the oak / no oak question that winemakers look at each year.

And here they are:

Ashbrook 2015 (Margaret River 2015, 13.8% alcohol): Pale yellow in colour, the nose is a riot of tropical fruits; guava, kiwi fruit, pineapple, gooseberry, lime and lemon blossom, with some supporting hay / cut grass and herbaceous characters. That’s a lot on one nose! A hallmark of Ashbrook’s wines generally for me is the fruit purity, and this flows through the palate, along with some musk and cardamom. Medium bodied but high acid, leading to a clean finish. I’m tasting this again a day later, and the notes are very similar, with only slight fruit ‘softening’. Delicious young.

Rockford 2011 (Barossa Valley, 12.5% alcohol): Yellow bordering on gold in colour. Some oak is evident on the nose, along with lemon, baked pear, honeysuckle and some lanolin. The palate shows soft fruit sitting alongside the oak and moderate acidity. There’s lemon pith and some oak-derived savoury characters. It’s a bit like a Tahbilk Marsanne (although the Marsanne is unoaked and has higher acid) at about the same age. Drink up now.

Hainault 2010 (Perth Hills, 12.7% alcohol): Yellow bordering on gold in colour. It’s similar in some respect to the Rockford, although the lemon is more pronounced, and one taster developed the theme further with “hot tea with lemon and honey”. The palate is soft and round, medium acid and medium bodied, leading to a soft and modest finish. May go another couple of years without necessarily improving further.


Tyrrells Vat 1 2007 (Hunter Valley 12% alcohol): Pale yellow in colour, in fact paler than all of the preceding wines. A shy delicate nose initially, which opened up with lemon, green apple, cucumber, lanolin and light toast. The palate shows Mayer lemon (according to at least one taster), lemon pith, a slight oiliness, medium to high acid. The overall impression is a wine of great balance and length – one taster used the word “unctuous”. Tasting this again a day later, it’s bone dry, delicate and pure. In my opinion, we’ve opened it a fraction too young, and I should go another 10-15 without breaking a sweat.

Alkoomi Wandoo 2004 (Great Southern WA, 12.3% alcohol): Yellow in colour. A spicy, slightly sharp nose, with herbs, a touch of almond, honeysuckle, toast – and a couple of highly specialised notes – “savouriness like prosciutto fat”, and “caramelised roasted capsicums”. The palate shows guava, paw paw, a slight acid spritz and some oiliness (I realise the last two could be seen as competing). The wine starkly reminded me of some Moss Wood semillons I drank in the 2000s, which were from the late 1990s – surprising!

Mount Pleasant Lovedale 1996 (Hunter Valley, 10.5% alcohol): Deep gold bordering on orange. The first impression on the nose was (surprisingly) kole beer, followed by boiled lollies, candied lime, honey, toast – a very intense and complex nose. The palate shows sour lemon, a slight oiliness, and I felt the palate faded slightly and was slightly rounded. There’s still cleansing acid leading to a medium length finish. Overall, very well balanced. Unfortunately, not in as good condition as the magnum of 1996 Elizabeth (the wine’s little sister) that I opened earlier this month, and this just may be a function of bottle age and cork, not the initial wine quality.

Wine of the night was unanimously the Tyrrells Vat 1 2007. We chose a tasting plate and main courses to complement the semillons, and the food and service at the Terrace Hotel did not disappoint. Thank you to everyone there, for your scintillating company and vinous insights.

Cheers
Allan

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