Australia’s New South Wales: Talk About the Weather
The Wine Advocate
June 30, 2014
by Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Each year as I approach the NSW tastings for this annual report I get a little excited about what the new vintages will bring for each region. The images of successes and hardships are so clearly expressed in the wines that, once you know what to look for, you can unravel the stories behind their styles, aromas, flavors and textures. For a critic putting together the qualitative report, it is a little like detective work – looking for clues both in the purported weather of the vintages and what is revealed in the glass as forged by time (the vintage), person (the winemaker) and place (the vineyard). So without further ado…
89 pts Brokenwood Hunter Valley Semillon, 2013
The 2013 Semillon puts forward a great expression of ripe pear, lemon curd and Golden Delicious apple with a peachy undercurrent. Dry and light-bodied, it offers a very approachable example of this style even in its youth, and concludes with a long, apple-laced finish. Drink it now to 2017+.