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The site of the Mount Horrocks Semillon, while just a few hundred metres from the Riesling vineyard, is very different. Weaker soil and rockier, the vines struggle even in a ‘normal’ season. Stephanie had a very good reason for choosing this site, with its weak topsoil over hard rock, rather than the soft-rock profile nearby.
Semillon vines need to be challenged if flavoursome wines are the aim. The semillon variety is notorious for producing big bunches, if given the chance. Small bunches are produced on poorer soils and can produce more intense wines. It’s about tempering the vigour of the vine and its tendency to produce high yields. In this case long lingering lemon flavours are complemented by creamy lees complexity achieved during nine months’ maturation in French oak.
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Tasting Notes:
Bright pale gold. Distinctive lemon, white peach and apple fruit on the nose, supported by complex, lightly spiced oak. Gentle yet generous, this benchmark Clare Valley Semillon delivers a complete varietal picture of lemon rind, lemongrass, herbal and nutty tones admirably supported by toasty, stylish oak and barrel ferment creaminess. Lingers long, the flavour running smoothly from the tip of the tongue to the back of the palate. Vibrant and fresh now, quite simply delicious – but will age admirably over the next decade.
Reviews
- Max Allen
Mount Horrocks Semillon 2021, a tight, crisp, lean wine in its youth that needs time in the cellar to really come into its own: the 2021 is lemony, mouth-watering, enjoyable, but the 2008, with its rich citron pith textural quality and hints of buttered toast, is now on a different level of enjoyment altogether – …
