2017 Thomas Wines Cellar Reserve Braemore Semillon

This wine is just starting to emerge with those classic bottle-aged Hunter Semillon complexities. Brilliant medium lemon colour with a vibrant green hue. An elaborate nose of fresh citrus and stone fruits and hints of dandelion tea, flint, toasted sourdough and grilled nuts. The palate is just entering the realm of bottle age complexity. The flavour delivers waves of barbequed lemon and lime, ripe pear and starfruit alongside lemongrass, roasted cashew nuts and buttered toast, just to name a few. Its seductive and saline texture is balanced by a soft yet lively acidity. A unique and seamless wine and whilst it is in a superb drinking zone right now, it will continue to evolve over the next decade or more.

Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the world's most uniquely regional wine styles. The Braemore vineyard (planted 1969) is situated on the sandy alluvial flats of Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, and consistently produces Semillon featuring freshness, vibrancy and remarkable longevity. This wine has achieved an enviable reputation in recent years as being one of the finest examples of classic Hunter Valley Semillon.

The 2017 vintage was a warm and relatively dry season, and the start of a four-year extended drought period in the Hunter Valley. The vintage conditions have produced slightly riper/muscular shiraz and beautifully long-lived Semillon. The pedigree of the Braemore vineyard was evident again this year with the fruit achieving a perfect level of fruit ripeness whilst retaining excellent natural acidity. Hand-picked on the 1st of February, the grapes were whole-bunch pressed to minimise phenolics and fermented in stainless steel using a neutral yeast to enhance varietal purity. The wine spent ten weeks resting on its yeast lees prior to fining in preparation for bottling. Exactly 674 six-packs of this wine have been maturing in our climate-controlled cellar (held at 15°C) destined for release with six years bottle age.