Thomas Wines Cellar Reserve Braemore Semillon 2015

Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the world’s most uniquely regional wine styles. The Braemore vineyard (planted 1969) is situated on the sandy alluvial flats of Hermitage Road, Pokolbin, and consistently produces Semillon featuring freshness, vibrancy and remarkable longevity. This wine has achieved an enviable reputation in recent years as being one of the finest examples of classic Hunter Valley Semillon. The 2015 vintage was a relatively cool vintage with some early summer rainfall making it a challenging season for shiraz but perfect for long-lived Semillon. The pedigree of this vineyard was once again evident this year with the fruit achieving a perfect level of ripeness whilst retaining excellent natural acidity. Hand picked on the 3rd of February, the grapes were lightly pressed to minimise phenolics and fermented in stainless steel using a neutral yeast to enhance varietal purity. The wine spent six weeks resting on its yeast lees prior to fining in preparation for bottling. Exactly 462 six-packs of this wine have been set aside in our climate-controlled cellar (held at 15°C) destined for release with six years bottle age. This wine is just starting to emerge with those classic bottle-aged Hunter Semillon complexities. Bright mid yellow/green in colour, the nose has nuances of lightly browned toast and honeycomb, layered over a fresh grassy, citrus-like fruit precision. The palate has developed an attractive richness yet maintains an amazing purity, delicacy and freshness with vibrant fruit and a fine, focused line of acidity. Whilst it is in a superb drinking zone right now, it will continue to evolve over the next decade or more. Bottled – 20th May 2015 Release Date – 1st September 2021 Alcohol 10.1%