'We are tasting the Tyrrell's 2006 Vat 1 semillon, a Hunter Valley wine which, at sevenyears old, is still a juvenile, easily capable of another decade of good drinking. Its longevity is at the very heart of what makes it so astounding. To think of it as a one-year-old is a different story: gangly, acid, water and neutral flavour, not astounding. Vat 1 also shows us you don't have to pay big dollars for greatness.' - Canberra Times, Jeni Port, 10 Apr 2013. Extract from 'What makes a great wine?'

The freshness of this wine demonstrates why Hunter semillon is possibly the most under-rated wine style in the world. The aromas centre around lemon, lime and fresh hay, and the palate is decidedly linear, based on a spine of acidity. This exceptional wine, at six years of age, is still at least five away from its optimum drinking window. 'Little or no colour change; the bouquet is distinctly aromatic, but still focused on primary fruit, not toast or honey; the palate is electrifying, drawing saliva from the mouth with its mix of unsweetened lemon juice/lemon zest and life-giving acidity, the DNA of great Semillon.10.9% alcohol.' (2009 Vintage) - 97 points. - James Halliday February 2016.

Domaine Huet L'Echansonne is the leading producer in the Vouvray region of the Loire Valley. It is known for its range of Chenin Blanc wines from that appellation, which are prized for their richness and concentration as well as their great ability to age.

Pale gold in the glass, with green highlights. The nose is lifted and aromatic with white blossom, ripe, yellow stonefruits, toasty oak characters, and a complex nuttiness, shot through by minerality. The palate is rich and textural, with layers of fruit, balanced by citrus-like acidity. Long and finely detailed on the finish. 100% Chardonnay from vineyards in the small appellation of Ladoix.The soils of the upper slopes are pebbly and reddish (iron-rich olite) with a high limestone content and quite marly. These suit great white wines. The grapes are harvested by hand and then directly pressed in a pneumatic press. Alcoholic fermentation takes place entirely in French oak barrels, of which 30% are new. The lees are stirred (bâtonnage) occasionally during ageing, which lasts 10 months. Jaffelins history is inseparable from that of the Collégiale Notre Dame de Beaune (the Notre Dame collegiate church in Beaune). Over the centuries, their cellars have housed the wines of the Collégiale and the Cardinals. The cellars changed ownership in 1816, when the Jaffelin brothers established themselves as negociants in the region. Today their wines rest in the monastic tranquility of the Chapitres cellars, just as they did eight centuries ago. Jaffelin entered a new chapter in its history in 2004, after completely renovating the vat room, and equipping it with modern winemaking equipment. They strive to bring out the Burgundy terroirs, cru by cru, wine by wine, at every stage of the winemaking process.

The wine expresses characters of lemon curd, glazed apricot Danish, ginger snap and orange blossom team with savoury underlying buckwheat, lanolin and toasty char complexity. These work in concert with a tactile calcareous interplay underpinning a silky pear-like texture. A lingering line of acidity provides the backbone but allows for the richness, weight and flavour, directing to a resounding and expansive finish. where body, flavour & palate weight co-exist with structure, texture and restrained acidity. Complex fruit characters of white nectarine, saffron, Pink Lady apple, chamomile flower, cashews and Leatherwood honey work in concert with a tactile interplay of chalk, silkiness and Beurre Bosc pear-like texture. Subtle acidity provides the backbone conveying the fruit and weight to a resounding finish.

Vat 47 from the Hunter Valley has a silky bouquet of melon stone fruit and creamy oak that is followed by a palate of extraordinary balance and length. An absolute classic and will only get better with some medium term ageing.

Estate dry-grown vines, planted '69. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented in French oak (30% new), matured for 10 months. Bright & complex nose of blossom, stonefruit, candied figs & lemongrass with subtle background oak. Generosity of stonefruits flavours give fruit volume & weight to the palate. A ginger cream spice & texture lending weight with gentle vanillin oak & a fine tannin framework.