Hunter Valley Semillon

[Alex Lake]

Clearly the star of Aussie WIMPs, we enjoyed wines from Mount Pleasant and Tyrell's, so I'd love to know more and maybe lay some down.
The range of Semillon from Tyrell's is enormous!
VAT1 and Jonno quite expensive, but Steven's and Brookdale quite affordable from L&W and Tesco* respectively.
Mount Pleasant Lovedale 2013 ("The best since 2005"?) available for about £40?
Any insight into what might be affordable now, and a great wine in 10 years time?

*Tesco may be illusory - showing as out of stock, and may have been so for several months, if not years!

 

[David Pope]

Mount Pleasant also produce Elizabeth semillon, which is cheaper than Lovedale and can also last a long time. The 2005 was my white of the year in 2021.

A lot of quality Hunter sems don't make their way to the UK. Among those that do, you could look out for Keith Tulloch and Gundog.

 

[Simon Reilly]

Mount pleasant Elizabeth much cheaper than Lovedale and ages v well. Not as good but still very good. Can’t go wrong with Lovedale and Vat 1 though. Brokenwood ILR reserve also good.

 

[David Pope]

I'd forgotten about Brokenwood. Their ILR can certainly be added to the list.

 

[Alex Lake]

Mount Pleasant also produce Elizabeth semillon, which is cheaper than Lovedale and can also last a long time. The 2005 was my white of the year in 2021.

A lot of quality Hunter sems don't make their way to the UK. Among those that do, you could look out for Keith Tulloch and Gundog.

Funny you should mention Keith Tullock - NYWines (just up the road from me) has one of their wines (as well as Lovedale). Only £17, so might try it.
I see Brokenwood ILR is the same price as Lovedale.

 

[Michael Sheridan]

Tyrells HVD is decent too and available at a decent price at Waitrose cellar

 

[Richard Ward]

Henschke Louis Semillon is really good too.

 

[Mark Carrington]

It's quite straightforward: Lovedale or Vat 1. There are others of merit including from outside HV. But do not compromise.

Edit. Just seen the price for Lovedale '13. Ouch . OK to compromise.....just a little.

 

[Jeremy Caan]

It's quite straightforward: Lovedale or Vat 1. There are others of merit including from outside HV. But do not compromise.

Edit. Just seen the price for Lovedale '13. Ouch . OK to compromise.....just a little.

What form does a little compromise take?

 

[Colin Bradley]

Henschke Louis Semillon is really good too.

It is, Richard, but it's not from Hunter Valley and isn't in the HV style.

My top three from HV are also Tyrrell's Vat 1, Mt Pleasant Lovedale and Brokenwood ILR. The latter two used to be priced comparably to Ozzie riesling (i.e. cheap for the quality) but they're not now. I have more Lovedale than the others in my cellar (2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013 now), with just a few ILR and a single Vat 1 left. I like the style very much.

 

[David Pope]

James Halliday's Aussie Wine Guide suggests that the sems from Andrew Thomas, Audrey Wilkinson and De Iulis are also among the best. Unfortunately they're not exported to the UK, AFAIK. Any forumites visiting Oz should snap these up if they find them.

 

[Alex Lake]

It's quite straightforward: Lovedale or Vat 1. There are others of merit including from outside HV. But do not compromise.

Edit. Just seen the price for Lovedale '13. Ouch . OK to compromise.....just a little.

If you think Lovedale is ouch, best you don't look up Vat 1!

 

[Richard Ward]

It is, Richard, but it's not from Hunter Valley and isn't in the HV style.

That's what I meant by "is really good too" i.e. as well as the Hunter ones.

 

[Alex Lake]

And what's the difference (if any) between "Mount Pleasant Sémillon 1946 Vines Lovedale Vineyard" and "Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale"?
I mean in terms of quality/character. Or maybe it's just country-specific branding of the same wine?

 

[jonathan points]

A Tyrell’s Vat 1 1993 opened last October, in a week of some very smart wines being opened, was one of the stars.
A singular experience, a wine of such understatement in some ways, but quite thrilling. German Riesling lovers’ sort of wine!

 

[Alex Lake]

A singular experience, a wine of such understatement in some ways, but quite thrilling. German Riesling lovers’ sort of wine!

Exactly! And even though these wines seem expensive at around £45, it could be argued that they're worth more. The Lovedale 2005 was easily 1er cru quality from a Burgundy perspective, maybe nudging grand cru.

 

[Colin Bradley]

That's what I meant by "is really good too" i.e. as well as the Hunter ones.

Ah, I see - I interpreted it as "Henschke Louis is good as well as the HV semillons already mentioned!"

 

[Colin Bradley]

And what's the difference (if any) between "Mount Pleasant Sémillon 1946 Vines Lovedale Vineyard" and "Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale"?
I mean in terms of quality/character. Or maybe it's just country-specific branding of the same wine?

I think the inclusion of the vineyard date might simply be a revision of the labelling, with it being the same wine.

 

[Mark Palmer]

Exactly! And even though these wines seem expensive at around £45, it could be argued that they're worth more. The Lovedale 2005 was easily 1er cru quality from a Burgundy perspective, maybe nudging grand cru.

Not really a very helpful analogy Alex.

I know that you referenced the “quality perspective“, but even so Burgundy Grand Cru comes with an expectation of weight, grandeur and power. Lovedale comes from a completely different place where the emphasis is on weightlessness, complexity and subtlety of flavour. Perhaps a more suitable comparison might be with the better wines of the Rheingau.

 

[Mark Palmer]

Ah, I see - I interpreted it as "Henschke Louis is good as well as the HV semillons already mentioned!"

Although IMHO it’s not.

 

[David Pope]

I think the inclusion of the vineyard date might simply be a revision of the labelling, with it being the same wine.

Either that or it's from a block of older vines. Actually, Colin's suggestion seems more likely, as vines from 1946 aren't particularly old in the Hunter!

 

[Alex Lake]

Not really a very helpful analogy Alex.

I know that you referenced the “quality perspective“, but even so Burgundy Grand Cru comes with an expectation of weight, grandeur and power. Lovedale comes from a completely different place where the emphasis is on weightlessness, complexity and subtlety of flavour. Perhaps a more suitable comparison might be with the better wines of the Rheingau.

Well, I'm just talking "wow factor" here. It's a methodology I got from Michael Schuster that I find useful when trying to assess "value". It shouldn't be taken too literally.
And I don't really know the better wines of the Rheingau. I've yet to meet a non-sweet German wine that I'd pay over £25 for, but live a sheltered life.

 

[Simon Reilly]

Colin is right, the Lovedale variance is just a labelling revision.

I’ve probably told this story before but I am minded to tell it again given the praise heaped on the 05 Lovedale.

When I lived in Sydney in the mid-noughties I was a member of the mount pleasant wine club and attended a dinner at the Opera House in summer 2005/2006, can’t recall the date.

The restaurant at the Opera House was then “Guillame at Bennelong” which was the best restaurant in town according to the Sydney Morning Herald restaurant guide. The dinner was to launch the 2001 vintage of Lovedale. It was a grand affair with fizz and canapés on the steps, followed by 3 or 4 courses of 1 or 2 * level food.

Several vintages of Lovedale and Maurice o Shea Shiraz stretching back to the 80’s flowed.

But they also served the recently bottle 2005 Lovedale, as they thought it so good in its youth it deserved a limited early release so people could enjoy this flush of youth. As I understand it, this was the first time they have done that, with the norm being to release it only after 4-5 years of bottle age. It was stunning and I bought a case when I moved back to the Uk in 2008 and have enjoyed it throughout its life. Great to hear it is still going strong. Think I still have a bottle or 2 left. I don’t know if they have done further early releases but shows that the wine showed its promise from day 1.

Back to the Opera House dinner. After the semillon and shiraz was finished they opened their last remaining stocks of a Madeira style verdehlo which was a blend of barrels of the 1946 and 1966 vintages. One of my great wine memories.

The price for the evening, which also included a wooden presentation box with a bottle of the 2001 Lovedale to take home, was $100 a head. I think the $ was about 40p at the time and the Lovedale retailed locally for about $40.

 

[Alex Lake]

The price for the evening, which also included a wooden presentation box with a bottle of the 2001 Lovedale to take home, was $100 a head. I think the $ was about 40p at the time and the Lovedale retailed locally for about $40.

Nice story.
Of course that Lovedale was sold in Tesco here for a ludicrous £15 (I think!)

 

[Malcolm Thwaites]

@Alex Lake Thank you for initiating this this thread as by chance I shall be visiting the HV in a few weeks. I now feel better equipped to tackle the wine lists.