2013 Museum Semillon

2013 was a terrific Vintage for Semillon, creating wines that possess effortless concentration and balance.

Now seven years old, this Semillon still shows full-bore delicious tropical aromas, revelling in youthfully bright scents of lime, lemon, guava and white pineapple.

Flavours are fine and focused too, retaining the crisp citrus freshness, elegance and length of classic Hunter Semillon; the more mature characters of vanilla shortbread and white-clover honey are gradually building and will continue to amplify. It’s an impressively complete wine that is both vibrant and soft, drinking wonderfully now and for the next 10 years.

Technical data

Alc  11.3%

pH   2.94

FIELD OF MARS - Single Vineyard Range                            

Field of Mars Chardonnay Block 6 2016

Variety:   100% Chardonnay

Region:     Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

Vineyard:  Keith Tulloch Field of Mars Vineyard

Vine Age:  Vines planted in 1968

Tasting Note                                              

Close planted in 1968, this dry farmed Chardonnay vineyard is a rarity, particularly planted with ‘Busby clone P58’, recognised amongst the strongest Chardonnay clones. This small 0.25 hectare plot is a very special resource, as it produces incredibly intense fruit character . Our vines are grown in the same deep sand as the Semillon 2a, and I’m sure that is key to this wine’s inherent quality. This wine proves again that country that is perfect of growing exceptional Hunter Semillon is also perfect for outstanding Chardonnay.

Colour: brilliant straw green with flecks of lime and pastel yellow.

Aroma: Strong elements of barrel ferment with perfumes of struck-flint and river-stone, lifting the bouquet with terrific fresh minerality. There’s excellent concentration of peach and nectarine, just in front of orange-blossom and pink grapefruit, but the magic of the aroma is much more than fruit. The complex fumé provides a unifying savouriness, accenting the fruit above the fine spices of oak.

Palate: Complex orange-blossom and pink grapefruit, along with hints of preserved lemon and golden apple. Elements of mineral and flint are strong too, supplying equally positive flavour length and distinction. Fermentation and maturation in French oak barrel provides a cashew-like creaminess beneath the fruit, which drives the long very tightly bound finish.

Cellaring potential: Keep it if you can, beyond 10 years.

128 dozen made

94 points James Halliday                                                                                                        

Technical Data

Alcohol: 12.7%

pH:         3.22

TA:          7.3

FIELD OF MARS - Single Vineyard Range                            

Field of Mars Semillon Block 2a 2016

Variety:   100% Semillon

Region:    Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

Vineyard: Keith Tulloch Field of Mars Vineyard

Vine age: Vines planted in 1968

Tasting Note 

The tiny 0.25 hectare Block 2a vineyard planted in 1968, is a real treasure - year-on -year these 50 year old Semillon vines produce exceptional varietal expression. The deep alluvial sand is key to preserving the grape's elegance and intensity, also enabling the juice to hold a natural core freshness, low pH and bright acidity.

Vintage: Cooler ripening weather with showers of rain in January 2016 leading into harvest. The very fine and pure Semillon fruit retained grape acidity for longer than normal, generating a notable degree of elegance in structure and balance.

Colour: fresh straw green flecked with a lime hue.

Aroma: Pure, centring on a focal point of scented Meyer lemon with hints of green apple. Intensity grows, with Tahitian-lime and white pineapple adding heightened steps of attractive perfume and tropical zest, with sweeter lemon still maintaining the flavour nucleus. A beautiful bouquet with timeless freshness.

Palate: The palate is similarly bright with pure yellow-citrus, shifting between lemon / lemon-curd and sweet lime, with finer sweet and pithy hints of pomelo and grapefruit giving delicious length and zesty persistence.The acidity is amazing, beautifully soft and yet showing sublime mineral-like crunchy focus, eventually fading to hints of white fig and a soft dusting of chalk.                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cellaring: Very enjoyable now 4 years of age, yet will easily age for another 15 years.  

139 dozen made
95 points James Halliday                  

Technical Data
Alcohol:   11%
pH           2.96
TA           8.3

2017 Hunter Valley Botrytis Semillon

Variety:  100% Semillon
Region:  Hunter Valley
Vine Age:  40+ years old

Vineyard:  Bainton Vineyard

Tasting Notes

Showing sumptuous colour in the glass, with bright golden-yellow plus flashes of luminous green.

Aromatically, this delicious dessert style wine reveals pure waves of tropical fruit, lifted with zesty freshness of cumquat and orange peel, its candied richness mixing with warmer, deeper scents of honeysuckle and nectare.

Flavours are intense, coating the tongue with the lush super-ripe sweetness of pineapple, tangerine, apricot, orange, and golden nectarine, all drizzled with macadamia, honey and vanilla. French oak has contributed extra elements of silky flavour softness and sweeter oak mouth feel, accentuating the beautiful hints of creme brulee and toffee onto the finish.

At this young stage the palate finishes with bright zest and acidity, giving the wine's lusciousness an elegance and refined freshness. Over time, the palate will develop depth and richness, building to an incredibly complex fruit-and-toffee power over 5 - 9 years.

Drink: Delicious now to 2026. 
Food Match: Cream blue cheese, creme brulee.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 10.0%
pH: 3.71

FIELD OF MARS - Single Vineyard Range                            

Field of Mars Viognier Block 1 2019

Variety:   100% Viognier

Region:     Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

Vineyard:  Keith Tulloch Field of Mars Vineyard

Tasting Note                                              

Each Vintage for 10 years I’ve watched improvement in this Viognier fruit at harvest, waiting for quality in the vineyard to reach the exceptional Field of Mars standard. In 2019 the fruit balance on the vine was perfect. The Vintage weather was perfect too, with warm to hot, dry weather throughout. Fruit was gently pressed, and the new juice underwent whole-barrel fermention in deluxe French oak, staying on lees in barrel for 10 months. 

Colour: Vibrant and light: shimmering fresh green-straw flecked with Chartreuse.

Aroma: Viognier is truly the hedonist's white grape variety –  exuberant, perfumed, and seductive spectrums of fruit and flower. This wine is a terrific example, almost enveloping the glass in a cloud of orange-and-hawthorn-blossom, scents of ripe white peach and honeysuckle, with background elements of apricot, musk, and honey. Mineral and oak with ribbons of river-stone and vanilla, where everything is in harmony.             

Palate: The flavours are flashy and opulently textured. Bold and vibrant with the fresh feel of concentrated white peach, providing plenty of flesh and length. Tangerine and apricot flavours arise with a lush prominence across the mid-palate, while a vein of almond and mineral, with a dusting of fresh ginger, gain spicy momentum onto the finish.There is satiny richness throughout plus alcohol conferring an element of subtle fruit sweetness, yet the palate is very long with fine lemoncello-like tang, finishing with subtle spice shadings of toast and vanilla.

All elements combine for powerful yet elegant, thrillingly pure example of this variety.

612 Bottles made

94 points James Halliday                                                                                                        

Technical Data

Alcohol: 13.6%

pH:         3.54

TA:          4.9

Single Vineyard Range

2019 Latara Vineyard Semillon                                           

Variety:      100% Semillon 

Vineyard:    Keith Tulloch Latara Vineyard

Region:       Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

Vine age:    Vines planted in 1978

Tasting Notes

This single vineyard on Deasys Road, Pokolbin was established in 1978 on volcanic, clay and limestone soils. The site has a gentle rise with a Western aspect, providing plentiful sunlight for consistently outstanding fruit. Latara Semillon posses a very striking personality: a pure clarity of colour, aroma and flavour, delivering extra radiance and volume with natural grace and power.

Colour : Extremely fine with flecks of lime and neon-green.

Aromas: The vineyard signature fruit characters are ripe lime-juice and lemongrass through to zesty tropical notes of Kaffir lime and pineapple. 

Palate: A bolder expressive palate full of juicy lime energy with the textural roundness of golden apple with zesty tropical fruit and pineapple. Flavours combine with an elegant sherbet-like balance: fresh and tangy, effortlessly long, with terrific focus and persistence. 

Cellaring: Showing beautiful harmony already, but in 5 years it will be sensational drinking, and in 10 years even better.

Drink: Now - 2030. 
165 dozen made.                                                          

Technical Data
Alcohol   10.5%
pH           2.74
TA           7.6

Single Vineyard Range

2019 McKelvey Vineyard Chardonnay

Variety:     100% Chardonnay       

Vineyard:  McKelvey Vineyard

Region:     Pokolbin, Hunter Valley               

Vine age:  Vines planted in 1998                                                 

Tasting Note

The soils are rich red-brown clay loam overlying a base of powdery limestone, on a gentle hillside with a north to north-west aspect.

Colour is a pearl-like shimmer of chiffon-lemon-yellow tinged with opaline light green.

Aromas are intense and sophisticated, ripe citrus and stone fruits mixing with myrtle and verbena, tantalisingly elegant layers of barrel ferment giving unobtrusive dimensions of spice with the gentle fumé elements of sandalwood, mineral, and gun-flint simmering in the background.

The palate shows a ripe fruit length, seductively textured, nuanced with creamy, nutty, and ethereal mealy softness like nougat and fine pistachio.Oak is very subtle, almost saline, contributing a sustained savoury lightness plus a final dusting of spice and vanilla.

Drink: Now - 2028.  
224 dozen made.

Technical Data
Alcohol:  13%
pH:          3.18
TA:          6.5        

Variety: 47% Marsanne | 43%  Roussanne  | 10% Viognier
Region: Hunter Valley

Tasting Notes

This wine was previously known as Epogée

The boldness of this wine is obvious even in how it presents in the glass, with a strong lemon-yellow colour with flecks of green.

Aromatically, this wine is really in a class of its own. All three varieties contribute differently to the bouquet: Marsanne (47%) gifts the highlights of fresh citrus and pear, sweet lemon and fig. Roussanne (43%) fills out the fruit accents of ripe apple, honey, and fine herb tea. 

Finally, a dash of Viognier (10%) brings bright and floral distinction, with clear notes of honeysuckle and orange blossom plus hints of jasmine. 

The characteristics of each variety add a different character to the aroma and this complexity carries on throughout the palate of the wine. The Marsanne and Roussanne combine perfectly for pear, fig and macadamia flavours that are lush, layered and textured whilst viognier confers a nectarine tang with fine cardamom-like spiciness. These three varieties were fermented individually in French oak barrels before blending, which supports these layers of texure with subtle spice and creaminess onto the finish.

Drink:Now to 2025
Food Match: Gnocchi, pasta, or seafood

Technical Data

Alcohol: 12.6%
pH: 3.32 

2020 Hunter Valley Chardonnay

Variety:     100% Chardonnay
Region:     Hunter Valley
Vine Age:  20+ years old

Tasting Notes

This barrel-fermented Chardonnay presents in the glass with colours of green straw, hints of jade-green plus pale lemon brightness.

The fruit aromas of this wine showcase ripe nectarine perfumes, supported by finer scents of pineapple, white fig and jasmine. Barrel fermenting combines richness with refinement, contributing fine yoghurt and cream aromas plus subtle hazelnut and cashew-like oak elements.

Stone fruit and citrus are in even balance on the palate, with nectarine and ripe-lemon mixing beautifully with sorbet-like tang. The yoghurt and cashew hints from the oak are present here too; they will continue to build on the palate over time, amplifying the creamy complexity and satiny charm.

Drink: Now to 2025.

Food Match: Shellfish, poultry dishes, and soft cheeses.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 12.9%
pH: 3.23

2020 Hunter Valley Semillon

Variety:     100% Semillon
Region:     Pokolbin, Hunter Valley
Vine Age:  Planted in 1978

Vineyard : Keith Tulloch Latara

Tasting Notes

Latara vineyard on Deasys Road, Pokolbin was established in 1978 on volcanic, clay and limestone soils. The site has a gentle rise with a Western aspect, providing plentiful sunlight for optimal ripening.

This is a classic Hunter Valley Semillon with pale colour - green straw purity flecked with lemon-tinged hints.The aromas of a young Semillon are often subtle, however this wine has an enticing tropical bouquet of lime juice, lemonade zest and distinctive hints of guava. The palate of the wine has the fine and delicate structure that Semillon purists will revel in, showcasing ripe lime juice flavours which run with terrific focus and length. The finish of the flavour is long and fresh, lasting with tangy lemon-zest and hints of pink grapefruit.

Drink: Now to 2026.
Food Match: Fresh oysters, and prawns.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 10.2%
pH: 2.92

2020 PERDIEM 'Pario' Pinot Gris

Variety:   100% Pinot Gris
Region:   Premium vineyard areas in New South Wales Australia

Tasting Notes

Pario ( Verb - Latin): ‘Bring forth’

The true varietal characters of musk and green apple offer bright, refreshing aromas lifting out of the glass. Nutty spice and the waxy textures of macadamia and barley carry through on the palate with the fruit flavours of white peach, pear and lime zest. A lovely balance of fruit and exotic spice that complements a wide variety of foods and appeals instantly. 

Pop it in the fridge or ice bucket immediately, and serve chilled.

Drink: Now.
Food Match: Most foods.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 12.0%
pH: 3.1

2020 PERDIEM 'Sitio' Semillon

Variety:       100% Semillon
Region:       Hunter Valley
Vine Age:    Planted in 1968

Vineyard :   Keith Tulloch Estate

Tasting Note

Sitio ( Verb - Latin): 'I'm thirsty'

This snappy, bright Semillon is the perfect refreshment. We make this wine in a way that emphasises Semillon's most tantalising aromas and flavours. On the nose, its a melange of crushed pear, pineapple, lime and meringue. The palate springs out of the glass with tang and flavour, just a hint of Campari-like sherbert with lemon-lime, guava, green apple and lychee.

Pop it in the fridge or ice bucket immediately, and serve chilled.

Drink: Now.
Food Match: Spicy Asian dishes, semi soft cheese with a fresh fruit plate.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 9.2%
pH: 2.99