2022 Brokenwood Semillon Half Bottle 375ml, Hunter Valley

Please note that this is the 375mL (half) bottle size of this wine

It is important to remember that this is the basic Brokenwood release, the standard, the bottom rung if you must. So you’d expect a decent wine for good value, without getting too carried away. Imagine my surprise… This is a stunning young Semillon. 2022 saw the weather gods doing their utmost to force local winemakers into their best Noah and the Ark impersonations, and while that may impact the reds, even that remains to be seen. Hunter winemakers are not unfamiliar with a touch of precipitation and have learnt to handle it. If ever anyone wanted evidence of this, here you have it. What a cracking young white! Apparently, wine show judges are in agreement as it has already picked up at least one trophy. If this is the bottom rung, bring on the ’22 big guns.

The colour is just the vaguest hint of lemon. The nose confirms this as very much the modern form of Hunter Sem – while retaining the ability to age for many years, there is also flavour galore in its early days. Good intensity and pinpoint focus with excellent length and a fine line of acidity. Lemon drop notes, fresh citrus, hints of ginger – a wine which dances. Fresh, balanced, full of life and very long, enjoy this now but please put a case away to share over the next decade. Try this, put a case of this away for a decade and at the same time, a case of a good Premier Cru Burgundy which costs five or six times as much, and then see which you prefer. You’ll wonder why you waste money on famous wines.

95 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, December 2022

Wet growing conditions that prevailed through to January ’22 were well-managed across the patchwork quilt of vineyards spread across the Hunter. Flavours of lemongrass, citrus and lanolin all contributing, this has the balance and length to transform itself over the next five years.

94 points & Special Value James Halliday for Halliday Wine Companion, December 2022

The year had hardly begun when the fruit for this excellent semillon was locked and loaded. It was a cool lead-up but then things turned out sweetly. Sure, there’s that crisp restraint and shy fruit that is the hallmark of young Hunter semillon, but it also has a degree of palate pleasing texture which makes it highly approachable as a youngster. Crunchy citrus and tart green apple with a fine lingering acidity. Drink to 2032.

94 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, December 2022

What a vibrant little beauty this is! Aromas of freshly squeezed lemon juice, peach blossom, and golden kiwi fruit – delicate and zesty. It’s light and lively, like catching a hint of something delicious on the breeze. In the mouth it continues that liveliness with flavours of homemade lime cordial, and a crunchy green apple acidity. It’s restrained and refreshing in the same surprising way a twist of lime adds a burst of freshness to mineral water. This wine is simply begging to be served with a pile of oysters or fresh prawns, and at only 11% you might as well enjoy in the sun over a long lunch. Drink to 2033.

93 points Nicole Bilson for Wine Pilot, May 2023

Notes of wet stones, lemons and freshly mowed grass lead into a delicately styled palate. It's energetic and tense, yet there's slight breadth to the core which adds appeal to such a young wine. No doubt a few years in the cellar will coax out more flavour and weight. Drink to 2031.

90 points Gabrielle Poy for The Real Review, December 2022

Hunter Valley based Brokenwood was established in 1970 by Tony Albert, John Beeston, and James Halliday, with first vines planted in Pokolbin the year after. Since the early 1980s fruit sourcing has expanded beyond the Hunter, and today, the well-regarded wines are made from grapes grown in Orange, Central Ranges, Gundagai, Canberra District and Tumbarumba (NSW) as well as Beechworth (VIC), Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale (SA), and finally Margaret River (WA).

The winemaking team is lead by Stuart Hordern and Kate Sturgess, while work in the 64-hectare vineyards is guided by Katrina Barry.