James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2012

Long recognized as the most definitive wine guide published in Australia, the 2012 edition was released on July 27th 2011. Mistletoe has received a most rewarding result, retaining the coveted 5 Red Star rating, the highest accolade given in the book. This rating puts Mistletoe in the Top 5% of wineries in Australia. Of the 12 wines submitted for Halliday’s evaluation 12 of them achieved ratings of 91 points or more. Seven of the wines submitted for evaluation were rated 94 points or more.

When Mistletoe Grand Reserve Shiraz 2007 was released we said that we thought this was the best Shiraz we had ever made and may even be a “once in a lifetime wine”. James Halliday comfirmed our opinion by rating this wine at 97 points in the 2011 Australian Wine Companion .

Well, we still cannot believe it, but Halliday has also rated the Mistletoe 2009 Reserve Shiraz at 97 points.

To put that rating into perspective, the 2006 Penfolds Grange ($600 per bottle), which some pundits say may prove to be the greatest Grange ever was rated at 98 points.

Of the top rated eleven Shiraz in the 2012 Australian Wine Companion, five were from the Hunter Valley. This proves beyond any doubt the fact that the Hunter is capable of producing world class Shiraz.

N.B. In 1965 the best Hunter Shiraz was held in such high esteem that wines such as Tulloch Private Bin Pokolbin Dry Red sold for the same price as Grange.

A selection of Halliday’s notes from the AWC 2012 follow.

Mistletoe Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz 2009

Crimson-purple; hand picked from dry grown 40 year old vines. Made in a top vintage, matured in new French oak puncheons. A beautiful medium bodied wine, the plum and blackberry fruit seamlessly balanced by quality oak and fine tannins; the mouthfeel is satin-smooth, the future, unlimited-but you can drink it right now if you wish. Screwcap.13.5% alc. Rating 97 points. Drink 2050.

Reserve Hunter Valley Semillon 2010

As it is won’t to do, it has an extra depth on the bouquet and extra urgency and drive on the palate, then an emphatic finish with grainy minerality; extended lees contact in tank has played a role. 11.3% alc. Rating 95 points. Drink 2020

Home Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2010

A highly aromatic bouquet, then a lively lemon sherbert palate with a cleansing, lingering finish. Great now or whenever the fancy takes you. Screwcap. 11% alc. Rating 94 points. Drink 2025.

Mistletoe Silvereye Semillon 2010

Quite a number of people who love our Silvereye Semillon have asked about awards or ratings for this wine.
We have made this residual sweetness style Semillon since Vintage 1998 and it is one of our most popular wines. Because it has a minimal amount approx 30 grams per litre – of residual sweetness – it cannot be called a dessert style and if entered in a wine show dessert class it gets trounced as not being sweet enough.

If we enter it in the dry table wine classes it again loses out as it has sweetness which is frowned upon by the wine judges.
Hunter Valley Semillon used to be called Hunter River Riesling until approx. 1962 when it was correctly identified by a visiting French viticulturist as Semillon.
Mistletoe makes three different Semillon wines each year, sometimes four, if we can get Botrytis fruit to make a dessert style.

These three Semillons are made at nil, low and medium levels of residual sugar similar in style to German Riesling which are classified as follows: Dry – Trocken, Off Dry – Halbtrocken and Medium sweetness – Spatlese.

These gradings correspond to the Mistletoe Reserve Semillon, Mistletoe Home Vineyard Semillon and the Mistletoe Silvereye Semillon.

With the new international appreciation and recognition of high quality German Rieslings, Australian wine critics are seeing the benefits of this same approach with Australian Rieslings and, as a follow on, we are now at last starting to see our sweeter Semillons being critically assessed and receiving recognition.

As with all Semillons, these two sweeter styles drink beautifully when young but their real beauty lies down the track with extended bottle age.

For the first time in over ten years we submitted our Silvereye Semillon to James Halliday for review and this follows.

The 13th vintage made with deliberate residual sugar;fascinating to see how far the wine has been pulled towards Riesling flavor and structure.Will be equally fascinating to watch its development over the years ahead. Screwcap. 10% alcohol Rating 94 points. Drink to 2020.

Silver medal at the NSW Small Winemakers Show 2011.