Mitchelton Print Shiraz 1999

The time had come to rip the top off this wine and I'm pleased I did for two reasons. Firstly, it was brilliant and was a treat to behold! Secondly, the wine's peak was just around the corner so my timing couldn't have been better.

The fruit which contributed came from three regions, those being Mitchelton Estate 71%, Heathcote 18% and the remainder from the Goulburn Valley.

At first look, the reddish hue depicts the earth from where this wine comes from. Dark fruits, plums and a vanilla influence from the French oak all contributed to a super smooth palate giving great length. A touch of pepper adding some welcome spice. The palate was very consistent from nose right through to the lip smacking finish.

A most enjoyable wine which was sipped on slowly. A blind eye was turned to the truckloads of sediment which caked the glass.

Semillon Night @Swirlsniffspit Tuesday 18 October

Semillon was shown in all forms from sparkling, to fresh, to bottle aged to delectable dessert wines. Some notes from this fabulous night....

Sparkling

St Agounant Blanc de Blanc 1999. Spends an amazing 10 years on lees which adds a wonderful depth and complexity. Made in the same style as Champagne. Soft, supple and well textured.

Bimbagen NV Clean and fresh. Touch of citrus on the nose. Very much a drink now style.

Young Semillon

Scarborough Green Label Hunter Valley 2011. Clean with crisp, crunchy acid. Needs food I reckon.

Murray Street Vineyard Barossa Valley 2010. I was pretty keen on this. I was ready to take a leaf out of the @thewinepunter 's book and make the early call of "the wine of the night!".
Clear development already taking shape. Lovely mouth feel and texture. Soft citrus, honey and some melon characteristics. All this for $20... Time to go shopping!

Queensland Semillon

Both of the Queensland wines came from the South Burnett region which is 2.5-3 hours north west of Brisbane. The climate is similar to the Hunter Valley - warm days and cool nights. Not surprisingly, semillon has performed well here for many years too.

Clovely Estate Left Field 2006. Bottle age has been it's friend developing some lovely toasty characteristics. Softer mid palate but lovely length. Very nice.

Barambah First Grid 2008. Needs some time to settle. Acid kick dominant at present. Has potential.

Aged Semillon

Peter Lehmann Margaret, Barossa Valley 2005. This was devine. Texture and fruit superb. Lemon curd is what I was getting. Powers through to the very end. A beauty!

Meerea Park Alexander Munro 2005. A very attractive lemony/lime thing going on here. The acid was prominent and crawls back onto the palate when you think it's gone. More time needed but will be a crowd pleaser hands down in years to come.

Dessert Wines

Punt Road Botrytis Semillon Yarra Valley 2010. Oh I love this drop and I was salivating more than Pavlov's dogs when I saw this on the list.
All elements in sync here. Man it's good! There's citrus and honey, jammy mandarin. Acid beautifully balanced. Drink with caution, or you'll guzzle it too quickly!!!

De Bortoli Black Noble. The best things need little introduction. Chocolate, nutty characters. Lucious length. This is brilliant deluxe, and then some! Be wary, it's addictive.