Gundog Estate Indomitus Albus Hunter Valley Semillon 2015

Gundog are on a roll lately, with this newish Hunter winery now producing some of the best wines in the region.

Yes, they’re that good. Or at least I think so.

Anyway, this Semillon is the latest in the line of interesting Gundog wines. Beautifully packaged wine, with the label adorned with photos of the Ta Prohm temple at Angkor Wat, it’s an unconventional Hunter Sem that works.

Winemaking-wise this starts quite conventionally, with Semillon grapes sourced form the Vernon and Somerset vineyards in the Hunter Valley. From there, the cloudy juice (which includes 2% Gewurz) then spends some time on skins, before a wild ferment and then 6 months on lees ( stats: pH 3.28, TA 6.1, RS 5g/L).

Given such treatment, it’s surprisingly bright and clear, though with a deeply textural, grippy and very dry style – it’s phenolic and not hard, backward, long and seems to chug along without a need for fruit sweetness, just palate weight. At first it’s just a bit awkward with a hint of greenness, but every time I came back I found myself more impressed by this. There’s a dash of white Bordeaux about the palate shape, but not quite as delineated – its softer than that. The longer it sat there, the more I found myself intrigued.

Yes. Best drinking: 2016 then 2020-2030+. 18/20, 93/100+. 10.4%, $45. Would I buy it? A few glasses now, a bottle later!