Tuesday, March 30, 2010

TYRRELL'S LOST BLOCK SEMILLON 2009

- Hunter Valley, NSW
- $11-$18
- Screwcap
- 11.0%alc

On paper the Lost Block might look like an earlier drinking Tyrrell's Semillon, but if you listen to Australian wine legend James Halliday (whose name happens to appear on the bottle here), the Lost Block Semillon is capable of cellaring for up to 10 years. Although I've never drunk a 10 year old Lost Block, at $12 a bottle it's a gamble almost all of us can afford to take.

Typically pale-straw with a tinge of green, the 2009 Lost Block's very light fragrance of citrus zest, melon and herb precedes a distinctly youthful, clean palate that borders on water-like in its simplicity. There are minor indications of grassy citrus characters etched throughout its harmoniously balanced, uncomplicated light-medium bodied palate, which finishes with a soft wash of gentle acids and preserved lemon flavour.

O It's very clean and totally quaffable, but it's too polite and needs to be more expressive and character laden for the serious drinker. Having said that, I continue to believe the appropriately priced Lost Block Semillon makes an ideal entry point into the world of white wine for young drinkers. Drink to 2014.
86 points


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