2019 Tyrrell's Stevens Semillon

The Stevens vineyard fruit has been made by the Tyrrell family since the 1993 vintage.

The vineyard sits on Marrowbone Road in Pokolbin - the family’s southernmost Semillon site - with vines dating back to 1911. It was this patch of red and sandy loam that inspired Bruce Tyrrell to launch the Single Vineyard program in the early 1990s, a move that changed the course of the winery’s history.

Hand-picked in the cool of late January 2019, the fruit was lightly pressed and fermented in stainless steel, made in the same pared-back style as Vat 1. What you get is classic Hunter Semillon DNA with a touch of vintage warmth: lemon pith, grilled citrus, and a fine thread of chalky minerality. The 2019 shows a little more weight and generosity than usual, but the acid line and precision remain spot on.

Stevens has always been a wine of balance - racy in youth, but built to evolve in the cellar for decades. It’s one of the Hunter’s great expressions of place and, vintage after vintage, still one of Australia’s best-value fine wines.

95 points
"This is a complex and chameleonic wine... The palate offers enviable harmony, with no edgy acidity, allowing the flavours to flow seamlessly."
- Toni Paterson MW (Halliday Wine Companion)