Hunter Valley

Overview

The Hunter Valley is the birthplace of Australian wine. Just two hours north of Sydney, this historic region has been producing wine since the early 1820s, when James Busby brought vine cuttings from Europe and planted them in the fertile soils of the valley. Today, it remains one of the most important and beloved wine regions in the country, a place where tradition and innovation coexist under a hot, humid sky.

The Hunter Valley is world famous for two wines that could not be more different in character yet equally extraordinary. Its Semillon is a miracle of transformation: picked early and bottled young, it is a wine of startling austerity, all lemon, flint, and racy acidity. With age, however, it metamorphoses into a wine of honeyed richness, toast, and roasted nuts, often reaching its peak after two decades in the bottle. Tyrrell's Vat 1 and Brokenwood's ILR Reserve are benchmarks of the style, while Mount Pleasant continues the legacy of the legendary Maurice O'Shea, whose mid weighted reds set the template for elegant Hunter Shiraz.

Hunter Valley Shiraz is unlike any other in Australia. In a country known for bold, full bodied reds, the Hunter produces Shiraz of medium body, silky texture, and savoury complexity. Earth, spice, leather, and red berry fruit mingle in wines that are as comfortable at the dinner table as they are in the cellar. The region's old vines, some dating to the 1860s, are treasures of Australian viticulture, yielding fruit of extraordinary concentration and character.

Key Varietals

• SemillonThe Hunter's greatest gift to the wine world. Bone dry and lemony in youth, developing honey, toast, and roasted hazelnut complexity with bottle age. One of the most ageable white wines on earth.
• ShirazA uniquely elegant expression. Medium bodied with earth, spice, leather, and red berry characters. Silky tannins and savoury complexity make it the ultimate food wine.
• ChardonnayFrom peachy and generous to taut and mineral driven. The Hunter has been a pioneer of Australian Chardonnay since the 1970s, producing wines of texture and finesse.
• VerdelhoA rising star in the Hunter. Tropical and aromatic with guava, passionfruit, and ginger spice. Often made in a fresh, vibrant style perfect for the region's warm climate.