"A really dense blackish purple colour to it. Pure concentrated spicy blueberries, blackberries and plums, with underlying game and liquorice as well. Fragrant with a good fresh kick of acidity, the vibrancy and youthfulness of this Hunter Shiraz is really there."

"Here is Hunter Semillon displaying, as it often does, spicy sauvignon blanc characters that make it ideal for drinking with spring rolls, chicken satay or sweet & sour fish. Wandin Valley winemaker-manager Matt Burton and his team made the wine from grapes bought in from David & Sue Vernon's vineyard on the slopes of Mount View.

The April/May 2009 edition of the Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine featured a comparative tasting of the Hunter Valley's best Semillon. We were chuffed to receive an invitation to submit our Reserve Semillon – and subsequently delighted by the results!

Sourced from a small vineyard in the Pokolbin area (Lower Hunter Valley), our harvested fruit showed outstanding varietal character and intensity of flavour. I was particularly impressed with the high skin to juice ratio of the berries, which lent themselves to a good level of flavour extraction. This ratio also meant however, that a greater level of phenolic material would be drawn through a normal press cycle. In light of this, the pressing cut was made early, and the juice was fined quite heavily prior to fermentation. Following a clean ferment, the wine was racked from yeast lees and prepared for bottle.

Wandin Valley produced its first Rosé in 2000. Since then, under three different winemakers, the style of our Rosé has understandably varied and evolved. We have however been able to develop a loyal following for the wine and often sell out well before the next vintage is available.

Our latest vintage is blend of estate grown Shiraz (45%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (55%). Juice from the Shiraz was drawn through Saignée after one or two days cold soak. All of the Cabernet, and some of the Shiraz was picked exclusively for the Rosé; it was crushed and destemmed, left to soak for three days with an enzyme addition, and then drained off the skins. Two thirds of the juice was then fermented cold, in tank, whilst the remainder underwent a full barrel ferment in new oak. The tank fermented component was racked from its lees promptly after ferment; the barrels after two weeks.

In 2007 we hand picked four parcels of Semillon for our Reserve blend. The vineyards, whilst all situated in Pokolbin, showed remarkable individual qualities due to unique soil profiles and microclimates. Each vineyard was harvested at ideal ripeness levels between 10.0 and 11.0 Baumé. Juice was racked twice to minimise solids, and then fermented cool at around 13 degrees Celsius. Post ferment, the wines were racked from their lees after a minimal settling period before blending, and finally bottling just two months after harvest.