Chateau Tanunda 100 Year Old Vines Semillon 2024

Written By Campbell Mattinson

Chateau Tanunda 100 Year Old Vines Semillon 2024
$80, 12.5% alcohol, screwcap, Barossa Valley

When it comes to old vines, most of the fuss is made over vineyards that grow red grape varieties. You could mount a case though that (very) old white grape vineyards are even rarer in Australia, and the wines they produce therefore that bit more precious. This old vine semillon supports that argument. It’s straw-yellow in colour, feels grapey and velvety in the mouth, shows flavours of peach, wax, apple and citrus and develops a gentle almond cream character as it breathes. It’s drinking well now but you could definitely cellar this for a handful or more years. This is more than just history in a glass; it’s a wine of true character. 94 points.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion book, former editor of Halliday magazine, former editor of Australian Sommelier Magazine and founder of the highly respected The Winefront site.

Mattinson has been an independent wine critic and photo-journalist since 1987. He’s the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He’s a past winner of a Louis Roederer International Wine Media Award; is the author of the award-winning book The Wine Hunter; and is the author of the best-selling novel We Were Not Men. He’s also a winner of a St Kilda Film Festival Award (as writer-director) and is a former winner of the prized Best Australian Sports Writing Award.

Mattinson, who is 100% independent, puts a score out of 100 on every wine that he reviews. But what he’d rather do, is tell you the wine’s story.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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