Mt. Pleasant Lovedale Semillon, New South Wales 2013

Elegant, intense Sémillon from New South Wales, the mouth a riot of lime and lemongrass, offset by the honey, toasty notes that come with age.

Ideal with oysters, especially with an Asian dressing, freshcrab, clams & sashimi.

A very good growing period with above average Winter and Spring rainfall resulted in an excellent crop. Late December 2008 was very dry and early January 2009 was both dry and hot. The Old Block Semillon ripened evenly and the balanced canopy provided much needed shade and cooler days. This provided power and concentration of flavour and additional colour in the final wine. The fruit was carefully handpicked during the cool mornings to retain freshness and to ensure quality.

All grapes for this wine were handpicked. At the winery they were destemmed, crushed, the must was chilled and the juice allowed to drain quickly from the skins. After a cold natural settling, the clear juice was racked off, warmed and inoculated with natural, neutral yeast for fermentation. The fermentation was slow and cool to retain the exceptional fruit flavour of the vintage. Three weeks after fermentation the wine was prepared for bottling, capturing the very essence of the vineyard and the purity of the varietal character. Awards and Press News: James Halliday Wine Companion 2018 - 97 points: "Gleaming, almost iridescent, straw-green; the wine's trophy and eight gold medal show record (culminating in Sydney in 2016) covers every relevant show. Moreover, it still has room to develop even greater richness, a faint touch of CO2 spritz intensifying the lemon/lemongrass fruit flavours, the acidity spot on."