2025 Brokenwood Semillon

95 pts
Classic Hunter Semillon - bright, precise, and built for both the table now and the cellar later.

Price:
Sale price$25.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
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Description

Brokenwood and Hunter Semillon are practically synonymous. No oak, no malolactic, no fuss - just clean, precise fruit and that crisp acidity that makes this style so addictive and so age-worthy.

The 2025 had a good growing season and the results show: vibrant and green-tinged in the glass, with florals and apple blossom on the nose. Lime, green apple and lemon pith on the palate, finishing long and refreshing. Classic early-release Hunter Semillon - bright, zingy and already delicious alongside oysters or anything from the sea.

Buy some to drink now. Buy more to forget about for five years.

95 points
"A pitch-perfect, classic style ... A highly satisfying wine from this ever-dependable label."
- Toni Paterson (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"This is singing right now for its clarity and precision and will continue to age well, slowly but developing in complexity over the next five years."
- Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

94 points
"A very fine Hunter Valley Semillon for enjoying over the next ten to fifteen years."
- Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

Gold Medal (95 Points) - 2026 National Wine Show of Australia

Gold Medal (95 Points) - 2025 Royal Adelaide Wine Show

Gold Medal - 2026 Winewise Championship

Gold Medal - 2026 Hunter Valley Wine Show

Gold Medal - 2025 Hunter Valley Wine Show

95 points - "A pitch-perfect, classic style with pure lemon and scented quince nestled within a gently expansive palate. Bright and refreshing, it has excellent flavour and flow with a strong presence through to the finish. A highly satisfying wine from this ever-dependable label." - Toni Paterson (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "An expressive new release in a very condensed vintage. Finger lime pulp, green apples and a fan of elderflower blossoms leaps from the glass. This has the crunch of nashi pears, followed by zesty driving acidity that is well intertwined into the body and swell of the wine. This is singing right now for its clarity and precision and will continue to age well, slowly but developing in complexity over the next five years. For its very good value price point, drink it now with fried school prawns and kewpie mayo." - Shanteh Wale (Wine Pilot)

94 points - "The Hunter Valley doesn’t always enjoy as many brilliant vintages as some other regions (I’m looking at you, Margaret River), but it does seem as though it might have hit the jackpot with 2025. Still early days, of course, but the wines are showing great promise. As is typical for this variety, fermentation was in stainless steel and the wine saw no oak. The colour here is the palest, watery lemon one could envisage. Good aromatics, including bath salts, talc, citrus, florals, jasmine and river stones. This is clean, fresh and focused with good energy and a lingering finish. A very fine Hunter Valley Semillon for enjoying over the next ten to fifteen years." - Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

92 points - "Lime and lemongrass, a touch of the exotic here, something like a prickly pear fruit character, or maybe kiwi fruit. It’s fleshy and juicy, quite fruit forward for a Hunter Semillon, but in a nice way. There’s a light powdery grip to texture, and the finish is juicy offering good length with a bit of Disprin character to close. It’s a wine you can guzzle. Very nice." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Vibrant in colour, with lots of luminous green tints. Lovely florals and apple blossom aromas. Mouth-filling flavours of lime juice, green apple, and lemon pith balancing the refreshing acid backbone. The flavours linger on for quite some time, similar to the 2024, a classic early release Hunter Valley Semillon.

Wine Profile

Winemaker Comments
Up to the 31st of December 2024 we received 799mm of rainfall at Brokenwood, which is almost 50mm above our long-term average. We started the growing season with a full soil moisture profile, and timely rain throughout resulted in the vines ending Spring in excellent condition. December was both drier and warmer than average, but timely applications of water and sunscreen allowed us to manage the heat when it arrived. Despite the dry start to summer, fruit condition and canopy were excellent coming into the new year, though tracking 10-14 days earlier than average. The dry conditions couldn’t last and 110mm of rain fell between January 7th and the 21st which slowed ripening down a little. This wasn’t a bad thing, especially considering how early vintage was looking. We picked our first Semillon on January 13th, and the majority was in by the end of January. There is genuine excitement around the valley in the quality of the Semillon’s from 2025, with the wines displaying great fruit weight and natural chemistry.

Vinification
Harvesting was almost all done by hand. The fruit was crushed, chilled and pressed immediately. Neutral yeasts were used for the fermentation in stainless steel and bottled in May. No oak or malolactic fermentation.

Food Pairing
Freshly shucked oysters of course!

Drink
Drinking well now but will improve with further bottle age.

Wine Specs
Acid g/L: 7.5
pH: 2.84
Residual Sugar g/L: 2.86
Alcohol %: 11.5

Price Bracket $30 or Less
Type White
Body Light Bodied
Variety Semillon
Country Australia
Region Hunter Valley
Australian State NSW
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
Wine Pilot
The Real Review
Critic Score 95
Alcohol 11%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
Closure Screw Cap

Brokenwood

Brokenwood is one of the Hunter Valley’s great stories. What started back in 1970 as a weekend hobby for a couple of Sydney lawyers has grown into one of Australia’s most respected wineries, without ever losing that original sense of fun and adventure. From the beginning they set the standard for Hunter Semillon, a style they still lead the charge on today.

These days Chief Winemaker Stuart Hordern carries the torch, crafting brilliant Hunter classics and also drawing on fruit from some of the country’s best regions. Think plush McLaren Vale Shiraz, elegant Victorian Chardonnay, and powerful Beechworth Cabernet, all made with the same Brokenwood touch.

The Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz has long been one of Australia’s most collectable reds, but the wines across the range share a common thread: purity, balance and a real sense of place. At the same time, the team here has always kept things down-to-earth. They’re serious about sustainability and quality, but never take themselves too seriously.

Brokenwood has grown up, but it still carries the spark of those early days. If you want a producer that combines Hunter Valley history with a modern, generous spirit, you’ve found it.

The Winemaking team at Brokenwood Brokenwood

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