2012 Cullen Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

96 POINTS

Tyson Stelzer - Halliday's Wine Companion

A breathtakingly youthful blend with a purity that defies its recipe. Refreshingly understated elegance for an almost three-quarters majority of sauvignon blanc matured in close to two-thirds new French oak. Subtle hazelnut complexity leaves the focus to fragrant citrus, delicate spice and mineral texture.

94 POINTS

James Halliday - Halliday's Wine Companion

A 54/43/3% blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and verdelho; wild yeast-fermented; but only 6% barrel-fermented in French oak. Vibrantly fresh, and with great length to its citrus/lime/lemon fruit, balanced acidity driving the finish. Cullen says cellar now to 15 years.

91 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

A blend of 54% Sauvignon Blanc, 43% Semillon and 3% Verdelho with 8% raised in French oak for nine months, the 2012 Mangan Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is scented of fresh grapefruit, lime juice, dill and lanolin with a hint of crushed stones. Light-bodied, it is very youthful, tightly-knit and a little tart at this stage. Give it another 2-3 years in bottle and drink to 2020+. Imported by Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; info@oldbridgecellars.com

Wine Spectator

Bright, sleek and distinctive, with a fresh hay note running through the lime and green apple flavors, lingering pleasantly. Drink now through 2018. 300 cases imported.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Wine Advocate

From a lower alcohol vintage, the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Cullen Vineyard is very citrusy on the nose, with green apple and mowed grass notes, as well as dried herbs and a waft of chalk. This steely 2012 is light, youthful and pleasantly tart, although less textured and intense than the 2013 and 2014 vintages.

Jeremy Oliver

Very lean, finely textured and chalky, but ultra-shy in its fruit expression. Delicate, light oaked aromas of lychees and gooseberries with herbal undertones precede a long, nervy palate whose penetrative lemony fruit is wrapped in an austere acidity, but tends to lack brightness and intensity.

Jeremy Oliver

Extremely taut and lean, with a very reserved and lightly herbal bouquet of lychees and vanilla oak plus a long, austere palate whose core of pithy, lemony fruit extends towards a finish of exceptional tightness and acidity. It has plenty of length but has been harvested so early it’s hard to determine whether or not it has the depth of flavour for much will develop with time in the bottle.

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Made using sauvignon blanc (54%), semillon (43%) and verdelho. Biodynamically grown. A small proportion (6%) spends time in oak. Brisk, frisky, crisp, cutting. Lively, darting wine from start to finish. Lime and green pineapple, (gentle) thistles and a soft, gummy, textural element. It’s a young, fresh, (mostly) unwooded white and so it’s suitable for early consumption, but the daring line of acidity suggests it will be better drinking given a few years to soften. Medium intensity flavour-wise, if not a little on the lean side. Some patience required.