1997 Rothbury Semillon

You never know what will await you when you open a 12-year-old semillon; colour in the bottle before opening is an approximate guide in the absence of a spectrograph. In the event, it was a bright gold with a hint of green, a great start. There were no nasty surprises to come, simply a wine with notes of honey and a slight touch of toast/grilled nuts, sustained by lingering, lemony acidity. A sheer joy.

1997 Tyrrell’s Lost Block Semillon

A day or so after drinking the Rothbury Semillon, I thought I would trust my luck, and open another quite different bottle of 1997 semillon! The colour was similar, perhaps a touch deeper, but the wine had an extra burst of exhilarating energy driven by glorious acidity. The wine is more fruit driven and pure, the flavours rising on the back-palate and finish, not unlike the profile of a top pinot noir.