2025 Brokenwood Semillon 375mL Half Bottle, Hunter Valley

Please note: this is a 375mL size (half bottle)

95 points Gold Hunter Valley Wine Show 2025

90 points Silver Sydney Royal Wine Show 2025

A pitch-perfect, classic style with pure lemon and scented quince nestled within a gently expansive palate. Bright and refreshing, it has excellent flavour and flow with a strong presence through to the finish. A highly satisfying wine from this ever-dependable label. Drink to 2030.

95 points (Special Value) Toni Paterson for Halliday Wine Companion, March 2026

An expressive new release in a very condensed vintage. Finger lime pulp, green apples and a fan of elderflower blossoms leaps from the glass. This has the crunch of nashi pears, followed by zesty driving acidity that is well intertwined into the body and swell of the wine. This is singing right now for its clarity and precision and will continue to age well, slowly but developing in complexity over the next five years. For its very good value price point, drink it now with fried school prawns and kewpie mayo. Drink to 2027.

95 points Shanteh Wale for Wine Pilot, April 2026

The Hunter Valley doesn’t always enjoy as many brilliant vintages as some other regions (I’m looking at you, Margaret River), but it does seem as though it might have hit the jackpot with 2025. Still early days, of course, but the wines are showing great promise. As is typical for this variety, fermentation was in stainless steel and the wine saw no oak. The colour here is the palest, watery lemon one could envisage. Good aromatics, including bath salts, talc, citrus, florals, jasmine and river stones. This is clean, fresh and focused with good energy and a lingering finish. A very fine Hunter Valley Semillon for enjoying over the next ten to fifteen years. Drink to 2040.

94 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, November 2025

Virtually water white. Green apple, lime zest and snow pea shoot aromas. Bright and fresh with a hint of sweetness softening racy acidity. Lemon squash and pea shoot notes run through. An approachable young semillon. Drink to 2033.

91 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2026

The 2025 Semillon is tight and bright, pure and grassy, edged with green apple, lemon pith and crushed shells. In the mouth, the wine is crystalline and pure, delicate and lacy. Young Semillon such as this shows none of the toastiness that grows in the bottle over time. Drink to 2036.

91 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, April 2026

Brokenwood Semillon from the Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s classic white wines and a benchmark for the region’s world-renowned Semillon style. Brokenwood has been producing Hunter Semillon since the 1970s, earning a reputation for wines of purity, balance and remarkable longevity. Under winemaker Stuart Hordern, the estate continues to refine this style — crisp and racy in youth, then honeyed and toasty with graceful age.

The grapes are sourced from mature vineyards in the lower Hunter Valley, where sandy loam soils and maritime breezes create ideal conditions for growing Semillon of high natural acidity and low alcohol. The fruit is hand picked early in the season to retain freshness and delicacy, then fermented cool in stainless steel with no oak influence. The result is a wine of precision and clarity that highlights texture and citrus-driven purity rather than weight.

In the glass it gleams pale straw with green reflections. The aroma is lifted and clean, showing lemon zest, lime leaf and lemongrass with subtle hints of lanolin and wet stone. The palate is taut and bright, with flavours of citrus, green apple and grapefruit carried by crisp acidity and a long, mineral finish. As it ages, the wine develops layers of toast, honey and nutty complexity while remaining wonderfully fresh.

This wine pairs perfectly with fresh oysters, shellfish, sushi, or light salads with herbs and citrus. It also complements grilled white fish, poached chicken or soft cheeses. Enjoy it young for its vibrant energy or cellar it for ten to fifteen years to witness its transformation into one of Australia’s most beautiful aged whites.