Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 2017

While I enjoy the open-knit approaches to crafting semillon across the region, this remains the bulletproof benchmark. Even here, there have been endeavours toward greater accessibility, with some lees inflection. A meld of the finest dry-grown plots conferring a carapace of talc, sandy mineral and effusive acidity that is, to be frank, indomitable. Descriptives, ineffable. The length, justifiable. Bury this. 97 points, drink to 2035, Ned Goodwin, Halliday Wine Companion.

The 2017 Vat 1 Semillon represents an excellent Semillon vintage in the Hunter Valley, and it is here that we start to see the majesty of aged Semillon begin to unfold. Sun-drenched hay, caper brine, wisps of black tea, crushed shells, a whiff of Szechuan peppercorn, lemongrass, green apples and cold buttered toast. In the mouth, the wine is texturally silky (with a weighty fall, like heavy gauge silk) and lingering. It moves with momentum rather than outright speed (like watching a whale shark swim: they might move slowly, but they swim fast), and it has a clarity and freshness in the mouth that is astounding. This is a super wine, an evocative wine, an imaginative wine. It's a wine on the up, with miles to go before it sleeps... Drink 2022-2047. 97+ Points. Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate.