17 September 2011

IN PRAISE OF SEMILLON & TYRELL'S

I was not a fan of semillon. Few grow the grape in New Zealand and the wines I’ve tasted always seemed harsh, a little woody and rather lacking in fruit. But an afternoon spent with Bruce Tyrell at his famous family vineyard and winery in the Hunter Valley last week convinced me otherwise. If you want to taste semillon and love it, start at the top.

Tyrell’s is a family owned winery that dates back to 1858. Bruce Tyrell, the current CEO and family head is fourth generation and it seems like the business might continue for many more generations, as his children are involved and every bit as passionate as he is. The shed (above) has been kept as an historic symbol on the hilltop site, but guards the original winery which itself is a complete eye-opener. In an age when wineries seem to think they need to build monuments to themselves, Tyrell’s modest buildings (dirt floors, old oak casks of mammoth proportions by today’s standards) belie the quality, success and fame that has been attained by their wines.

After a fascinating tour of his winery Bruce Tyrell invited us to his private tasting room. We were privileged. On the walls were photos of the family and a map that showed the many family vineyards scattered throughout the Hunter Valley. The Hunter is a great two day grape escape from Sydney - it takes a mere two hours in light traffic to reach from the Harbour Bridge and loads of accommodation options and some fine restaurants can be found. Tyrell’s also have vineyards in McLarenVale, Heathcote and the Limestone Coast.

We tasted and sipped our way through four semillons, two chardonnays, a deliciously soft Vat 6 pinot noir 2010, and five shiraz wines. Wow. The chardys were fascinating and I thought the Belford 2009 chardonnay was a ‘must buy.” The shiraz wines were really tasty and I’d love to get my hands on a bottle of the Lunatiq Heathcote shiraz ’09 which seemed to the first- ever female version of that varietal.

Tyrell’s are recognised around the world for their semillon and the six year-old Vat 1 from 2005 was a total knockout. Fresh as a daisy and totally reminiscent of Roses’ lime juice this wine convinced me I could love semillon! I also loved the single vineyard semillon from Belford, and the Johnno’s basket pressed semillon. Delectable. And guess what? I found that much awarded ’05 semillon at Sydney airport duty free. So I brought some home. Who’s for drinks?