The Belford vineyard was planted in 1933. The soil is light and sandy – the consistency of talcum powder – for the top 50 centimetres. It is the northern-most of the Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley vineyards.
2018 was another strong Semillon vintage in the Hunter Valley. Dry, warm conditions that were similar to 2003 meant cropping levels were much smaller than average and produced wines with robust flavours and softer acids.
The grapes were handpicked and sorted in the vineyard. Once arriving at the winery, the fruit was very lightly crushed and pressed with a small percentage of stalks. After a relatively cool fermentation, the wine spent a minimal time on yeast lees before being bottled early to maintain its freshness. No oak fermentation or maturation.
Intensely lifted citrus notes, this wine has the robust, richer, almost chalky palate that is commonly associated with the Belford Vineyard that is balanced by a soft, clean acid profile, giving the wine its great length.
Alcohol – 11.0%
Cellaring – 5+ years
