The Hunter Valley and Tyrrell’s Family Winemakers

Thursday was a travel day as we made our way from Blenheim, back to Auckland, and then on to Sydney.  After a two and a half hour drive (no, we didn’t drive – hired a car!), we arrived at the Hunter Valley Crowne Plaza, location for the 2019 Wine Media Conference.  The Hunter Valley is about 75 miles north of Sydney and is the most famous wine district in the state of New South Wales.  For 30,000 years, the Hunter Valley was occupied by the Aboriginal tribe called the Wonnarua. It is fascinating to note that Australia’s native peoples are a distinct race that bears no close affinity with any other people and that they are the oldest known race on Earth.

During the early 1800’s, European settlers migrated north from Sydney (then a penal colony) and began to plant the first vineyards. The climate is not a natural one for grape growing. The Hunter Valley is the most northerly of Australia’s wine districts and its latitude is closer to the equator. Weather is influenced by warm ocean currents coming down from the tropics creating a humid semi-tropical climate.  Despite all of this, the area produces world class Semillon and Shiraz as well as some excellent Chardonnay.

For many of us, the high point of the Wine Media Conference is the Friday evening dinner excursions.  Participants were provided the opportunity to choose an excursion. It was a difficult choice with each of the host wineries offering extraordinary activities and tastings.  We decided on Tyrrell’s and we were not disappointed.

The Tyrrell family traces its roots back to the early 1000’s when Walter Tyrrell arrived in England with William the Conqueror. Edward Tyrrell purchased 320 acres of prime land in the Hunter Valley in 1858, built the winery in 1863 and produced the first vintage in 1864. Today, the fifth generation of the family manages the vineyard and winery operations.  We spent a few minutes outside looking at the cabin that was built in 1858 and enjoying expansive views of the lush vineyards.  Chris Tyrrell, our host, led us into the winery where we gawked at the enormous barrels and admired some of the antique equipment.  The largest barrels hold enough wine for 3,000 bottles!

We continued into the winery and were seated in a barrel room where each place setting held twelve glasses of wine to taste. What Tyrrell’s had in store for us were vertical tastings (same wine, different vintages) and horizontal tastings (same year, same wine, but different vineyards) representing six Semillons and six Shiraz. Many of you may not be familiar with Semillon – I wasn’t.  In its youth, it is a highly acidic white wine with sharp citrus and white pepper notes.  Hilary and I found it fascinating that as Semillon ages, it becomes more golden in color, with floral and stone fruit notes and rich mouthfeel.  The vertical Semillons included Vat 1 2019, 2009, and 1998 and it was hard to believe that these wines were all from the same grape.  Of the Shiraz we tasted, my favorite was the Vat 9 2014.  The year was a nearly perfect growing season that produced a medium bodied, elegant wine.  Fruit forward and velvety smooth, it is a more restrained style of Shiraz than those made in South Australia and is meant to be enjoyed with food.

The tasting concluded and we were transferred to the lovely Muse Restaurant for dinner.  A first course of polenta, oyster mushrooms, and Pecorino cheese was paired with two wines, a 2017 Chardonnay and 2019 Semillon from Tyrrell’s Sacred Sites label, all from grapes grown on 100 year old vines.  The main course, Wagyu beef, was paired with 2014 and 2018 Sacred Sites Shiraz.  The dinner concluded with a unique cheesy dessert and two 2014 Shiraz, both single vineyard Sacred Sites wines

It was a memorable introduction to the wines of the Hunter Valley and we were deeply grateful to the Tyrrell family for their superb hospitality.

Cheers!