De Iuliis Hunter Valley Semillon 2024
- 93
- $28
- Drink by: 2025-2037
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Mike de Iuliis has established himself as one of the Hunter Valley’s leading winemakers, crafting exciting Semillon (and more). The vines providing the fruit for this wine are from a vineyard on Lovedale Road, and sources for Hunter Sem don’t come much more famous than that. The colour here is a very pale straw. Still very young, there is a scintillating freshness to this wine. The nose gives us a touch of grapefruit, with spices and florals. Imagine a sea breeze blowing through an orchard of lemon blossoms. There is a seductive texture here, with balance and bright acidity. It should continue to improve and excite over the next ten to twelve years. Delicious now, it would be ideal for freshly caught seafood.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
