THIS is the 160th birthday year of Tyrrell’s family wine company and it is endowing the event with two sublime $175 aged Hunter classics.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Reviewed below, they are the 2007 Vat 9 Shiraz and the 2005 Vat 1 Semillon, the most awarded wine in Tyrrell’s history with 34 trophies and 57 gold medals.
Behind Tyrrell’s stands towering achievements like the 2016 declaration by UK’s Decanter magazine of Vat 1 as a Legend wine alongside icons like Krug champagne, Chateau Latour and Henschke’s Hill of Grace.
Behind Tyrrell’s stands towering achievements
In 1979 came the triumph of the 1976 Vat 6 Pinot Noir being judged the best pinot noir in the Gault-Millau Wine Olympics in France and in 1971 the sparking of the Australian chardonnay boom after Tyrrell’s made the inaugural Vat 47 – the nation’s first commercially released chardonnay.
Tyrrell’s origins go back to Edward Tyrrell, nephew of the first Anglican Bishop of Newcastle, who had been sent to Australia in 1850 with two of his brothers by their surgeon father, the bishop’s elder brother Frederick.
Edward, a teenager, first tried dairying at Singleton but in 1858 took up 134.6ha of Pokolbin vine-selection land.
The timber slab hut Edward built and lived in on the land is still at the Tyrrell’s winery in Broke Road and the small vineyard he planted yielded its first vintage in 1864.
Edward married Susan Hungerford of Farley in 1873 and the pair had 10 children – two of whom, Edward junior, always known as Uncle Dan, and Avery the youngest of the brood, were to play vital roles in the Tyrrell’s saga.
Dan, a spare 1.9-metre tall bachelor, took control of the wine operations from his father in 1885 at the age of 15 and presided over 75 vintages up to his death at 89 in 1959.
Uncle Dan and Avery, the expert manager of the Tyrrell vineyards, mentored his son Murray, who took charge in 1959 at the age of 37 and was to drive Tyrrell’s to wine greatness.
On Murray’s death in 2000 his son Bruce took leadership of Tyrrell’s, along with wife Pauline, daughter Jane and sons John and Chris.
Fifth-generation family member production director Chris Tyrrell sums up: “I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of viticulture and winemaking quality - never forgetting the deeds of the people that got us here.”
WINE REVIEWS
ONE OF THE BEST-EVER
WHAT a magical wine this Tyrrell’s 2005 Vat 1 Semillon is – arguably one of the best semillons I’ve ever encountered. With brassy hues and enticing cumquat scents, it beguiles with pristine lemon front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows lime zest, gunmetal and toast and honey characters and the finish slatey acid. PRICE: $175, DRINK WITH: lobster and avocado soufflé. AGEING: 10 years.
RATING: 6 stars
VIVID, VIBRANT VAT 9
WITH the 2005 Vat 1, the Tyrrell’s 2007 Vat 9 Shiraz is in limited supply at tyrrells.com.au, cellar door and some wine shops. It has 13.5% alcohol, vivid purple hues and vibrant cassis front-palate characters. Plum, spice, Turkish delight chocolate and vanillin oak meld on the middle palate and earthy tannins glide in at the finish. PRICE: $175. DRINK WITH: fillet mignon. AGEING: 15 years.
RATING: 5.5 stars
SMOOTH, FRUITY PINOT
THIS Tyrrell’s 2017 Special Release Pinot Noir is from parcels that just missed out of the top-rank Vat 6. It has ruby hues, 13% alcohol, rose petal aromas and raspberry front-palate flavour. The middle palate has Morello cherry, mint and supple vanillin oak and the finish savoury tannins. It’s at tyrrells.com.au, the winery and wine shops. PRICE: $30, DRINK WITH: paella. AGEING: six years.
RATING: 4.5 stars
