Bruce Tyrrell always believed the Hunter’s 2006 vintage was a golden one for Semillon and recent wins with the 2006 Belford Semillon and 2006 Vat 1 Semillon at the 2012 Sydney Royal Wine Show consolidate that belief. Both wines were awarded a gold medal with the Vat 1 Semillon also picking up the James Busby Annual Prize for Best Wine or Brandy by a NSW Exhibitor in Any Class.
“I have always loved the 2006 Semillons as they have plenty of flavour and an almost sweetness of fruit on the palate,” said Bruce.
“These latest results just go to show what a great vintage it was for us in the Hunter in 2006.”
The 2006 Hunter Valley vintage was a product of the drought years with a dry, cold winter and early budburst. New Years Day saw the temperature creep up to 47°C with the humidity at 11%. The vines lost about 20% of their leaves that day and it brought vintage forward by about a week. The alcohols for Semillon were all around 10.5%, the pH’s remained low and the acids were lower than normal.
All Tyrrell’s top Semillons including the Vat 1, Stevens, Belford and HVD, were hand picked and hand sorted in the vineyard, then received up to four weeks on yeast lees. And the results speak for themselves, with these 2006 wines notching up 9 trophies and 28 gold medals between them to date:
- 2006 Vat 1 Semillon – 6 Trophies and 11 Gold Medals
- 2006 Stevens Semillon – 1 Trophy and 6 Gold Medals
- 2006 Belford Semillon – 7 Gold Medals
- 2006 HVD Semillon – 1 Trophy and 4 Gold Medals
