“Our wine business has been in the family for over 160 years, which is an amazing thing. We are lucky enough to make wine from vines planted by our great great grandfather in a time when they had no electricity or any of the luxuries we have today. It is an honor to work with these wonderful assets” -Chris Tyrrell Chris Tyrrell Established in 1858, Tyrrell’s could be called the First Family of the Hunter Valley. While at the Wine Media Conference in Australia this past October, I got to partake in a lovely excursion to Tyrrell’s where we visited the property and tasted through some pretty special wines. Our tour guide was Chris Tyrrell, 5th generation family member and now the COO. The Tyrrell’s Coat of Arms In 1963 Tyrrell’s released their iconic Vat 1 Hunter Semillon. This wine is now the most awarded white wine out of Australia. According to Chris, it is known for elegance, power, and strength. Vat 1 came out of the Winemaker’s Selection range when Murray Tyrrell wanted to isolate the best wines of each vintage. He named them after the cask in which they were matured. They are now only bottled in years when they believe the quality is high enough to warrant a separate bottling. Below are the Vat 1 Semillon wines we had the privilege of tasting while on our excursion to Tyrrell’s. According to Chris, with Semillon, there’s nowhere to hide. Simple and minimal winemaking, which allows the fruit to shine. *FYI, no oak has been used in these wines at all since the 1980s. A young Hunter Sem showing nicely. On the nose, green fruit, stone fruit, plus a hint of tropical fruit (cantaloupe?) moving into vanilla and delicate white flowers. My tasting notes actually say: delicate white flowers blowing in the wind. But I could have been hallucinating and on a high as I had just seen a kangaroo in the vineyards 🙂 This wine is showing the beginnings of age on the nose: petrol and a struck match. These notes are what makes me LOVE aged Hunter Semillon. A beautiful wine with a fruit basket palate and a slight perfumed note. When you taste this wine, you pause. I almost felt like I needed someone to take my hand and walk me through this wine. It is that different and special. Bracing acid that you would expect from a Semillon. Overall, this wine has a full, rounder mouthfeel that other Semillon’s I’ve had. Working my way through that 1998 Vat 1 “I look forward to continuing to push the barriers of quality in viticulture and winemaking whilst
Vat 1 Semillon 2019
Vat 1 Semillon 2009
Vat 1 Semillon 1998
never forgetting the deeds of the people that got us here.” -Chris Tyrrell
