2022 Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon, Hunter Valley

An early release to members only; commercially available in 2027. From block LO-7. It fills the mouth with a harmonious blend of citrus, pear and hallmark acidity that will provide a 30-year future, by that time it'll be redolent of lightly browned toast, honey and citrus marmalade.

97 points James Halliday for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2023

This is history in a bottle, an iconic single vineyard Semillon and Australia’s gift to the world of wine.

When young, high-acid Hunter Semillon acts as a liquid element of citrus and minerality, demanding seafood with natural sweetness, delicate fats, or subtle umami seasonings. Try with a sashimi of sea bream served with a light yuzu-ponzu dressing, white radish and shiso oil, or pan-sear sand whiting with braised fennel and a brown-butter, pine nut, and caper sauce.

A mature bottle is a sublime, luxurious match with Cantonese white cut chicken, Vietnamese cold-smoked fish or pan-seared sweetbreads with a light hazelnut butter crust and a splash of mature Oloroso vinegar.

More about this wine

The very first Lovedale Semillon was released from the 1950 vintage.

This vineyard in Hunter Valley’s Pokolbin area was planted in 1946 and features sandy aggregate loam topsoil and low fertility subsoils. Its wines are widely regarded as the defining expression of single vineyard semillon anywhere in the world.

The fruit for this 2022 wine is from Block LO-7. This was an exceptional season for Semillon, cool-to-moderate in temperatures, providing with an extended ripening window, retaining bright natural acidity while developing concentrated citrus flavours.

The fruit was destemmed and gently pressed to extract only the pure free-run juice. It was cold settled, then racked and inoculated with a neutral yeast strain before a cold fermentation in stainless steel. The wine was held briefly on light lees for delicate texture before early bottling.

Drinking beautifully in its fresh citrus youth but will transform over the next decade or two into the world-famous tapestry of browned toast, honey, and lemon marmalade.

About Mount Pleasant

The legendary Mount Pleasant estate was founded by one of the true visionaries of Australian wine, Maurice O’Shea. The vineyards include plantings of ancestral vines of 1880, as well as Australia’s oldest mother vine Pinot Noir planted in 1921. It is home to some of the first fine wines of Australia, and just five winemakers have left their mark over its 100-year history, maintaining its status as a benchmark of Hunter classics.