2016 Thomas Braemore Semillon Cellar Reserve, Hunter Valley

Put simply, bottle-aged Hunter Semillon lives in a house of its own, and Andrew Thomas crafts one of this rare style’s beacons. Released after six years of bottle age in a climate-controlled cellar (held at 15°C), the Cellar Reserve Braemore is Thomas’ emblematic wine. Thomas believes his Braemore Semillon really starts to reach its peak expression at 10 years old, but releases this wine at six, when the wine’s youthful citrus and green tones are starting blossom to those iconic flavours of toasted brioche, honeycomb and grilled nuts.
 
Andrew Thomas explains that in most vintages, the Cellar Reserve is exactly the same wine as the regular Braemore Semillon. However, some vintages might see a little more fruit from what he calls his “gun tanks”; those parcels that look particularly impressive.
 
2016 was a classic year for this style, and the wine is starting to hit its straps. Engaging secondary characters are emerging; grilled toast and roasted nuts sit alongside white florals, some sweet lemon citrus and a touch of smoky salinity. Hints of honey blossom and minerals work behind a fresh and vibrant palate, waxy weight and a silky, lithe frame. As you can see from the notes below, it’s a wine of impressive pedigree and, having done our homework, we’re sure it is one of the more precise, pure and elegant bottle-aged Semillons on the market. When Jancis Robinson wrote that Semillon is “One of Australia’s great gifts to the wine world,” it was wines of this ilk to which she was referring. 
 
“An exquisite wine that suggests the style here was finer boned and less overt of fruit, in the past. Barley water, lemon oil and a strong waft of peat, not dissimilar to great champagne or Laphroaig. Lightweight and skeletal, yet of immense thrust, intensity of extract, drive and length. A bit tangy, to be churlish. Nevertheless, an indomitable wine worthy of much attention” 

96 Points, Ned Goodwin MW, James Halliday Wine Companion
 
“Really youthful in appearance, mid-straw colour, looking smart for six years of age. Lifted, layered and complex aromas of lemon butter, toast, lemon pith, mineral and wet-stone. Still fresh and lively, with lashings of lemon, grapefruit, nuttiness and crunchy, mouth-watering acidity. Just beginning its journey. Impressive stuff.” 

96 Points, Aaron Brasher, The Real Review