Thomas Braemore Semillon 2016

\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 2016 vintage was a relatively cool vintage with some early summer rainfall making it a challenging season for shiraz but perfect for long-lived Semillon. The pedigree of this vineyard was once again evident this year with the fruit achieving a perfect level of ripeness whilst retaining excellent natural acidity. Hand-picked on the 27th of January, 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 six weeks resting on its yeast lees prior to fining in preparation for bottling. Exactly 486 six-packs of this wine have been set aside in our climate-controlled cellar (held at 15°C) destined for release with six years bottle age.

96 Points - Ned Goodwin MW, James Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points - Aaron Brasher, The Real Review