Eagles Rest Dam Block Semillon 2012
Style: White Wine
Closure: Screwcap
Eagles Rest Dam Block Semillon 2012
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Producer: Eagles Rest
Country: Australia
Region: Hunter Valley
Vintage: 2012
Critic Score: 96
Alcohol: 10.9%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2035
Eagles Rest is a small family owned winery high up in the foothills of the Brokenback range in the Hunter Valley. The oldest vines were planted in the 1970s and at an elevation of 240m above sea level, the vineyard is the highest in the Hunter Valley. The 2012 Dam Block Semillon, made by winemaking legend PJ Charteris, is Hunter Valley Semillon at its very best.
"This is a freakish wine, still with the colour (or rather the lack of colour] of a 1yo semillon, not a 4yo. What is more, the palate lives up to the promise of the colour, incredibly fine, long and pure, with lemon, lime and grapefruit citrus flavours locked together by tightly wound acidity on the long, perfectly balanced palate. An absolute steal at the price." James Halliday
Expert reviews
"This is a freakish wine, still with the colour (or rather the lack of colour] of a 1yo semillon, not a 4yo. What is more, the palate lives up to the promise of the colour, incredibly fine, long and pure, with lemon, lime and grapefruit citrus flavours locked together by tightly wound acidity on the long, perfectly balanced palate. An absolute steal at the price. Drink by 2026." James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points and Special Value Wine ★
Awards
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion ★
About the winery
Eagles Rest is a small family owned winery in the foothills of the Brokenback range in the Hunter Valley. The estate is planted to 8ha of chardonnay, 7ha shiraz, 3ha semillon and 2ha verdelho. The oldest vines were planted in the 1970s and at an elevation of 240m above sea level, the vineyard is the highest in the Hunter Valley.
"We're a family owned, small-batch winery from Pokolbin, Hunter Valley. In 2006 we found a very special parcel of land for sale high up in the foothills of the Brokenback range - the Maluna vineyard. It was a wild and exciting place, planted to 50-year-old Chardonnay, Semillon and Syrah.
It was our passion for wines that have purpose, that capture a sense of time and place that ignited our desire to start a label. When we first stumbled upon Maluna, we knew that it would be our goal to tell its story through wine. We named our label after the Wedged-tailed eagles that already nested there - it only seemed fitting.
We hand-craft small-batch wines exclusively from our Maluna vineyard which aim to capture a sense of time and place. Each of our wines is an expression of the land, the climate and the vintage. This means that no two wines will be the same and it's a concept we fully embrace in our winemaking.
Our vineyard is nestled 180-240m above sea level in the foothills of the Broken Back Range. We share the west border with the Pokolbin state forest and over 100 kilometres of untouched wilderness. Through the centre of the property flows the Flemming gully and to either side lie the steeply terraced vineyard blocks. This orientation allows for a variety of unique microclimates, from cool south-facing slopes and higher altitude blocks, to the warmer north-facing terraces.
With vines planted up to 240m above sea level, Maluna is the highest elevated vineyard in the Hunter Valley and benefits from a slightly cooler microclimate. The elevation also gives us greater exposure to the cooling easterly and southerly sea breezes during the warm summer months. This helps limit humidity and decrease the risk of disease.
The soil on the vineyard is over 300 million years old and is incredibly diverse. On the ridgetops you will find red volcanic duplex soils planted to Syrah and on the valley floor lies sandy loam planted to Chardonnay and Semillon. The oldest of these vines were planted in the 1970’s and dry farmed for decades, typically producing a low crop of highly concentrated fruit.
To the west of the Maluna vineyard lies nothing but 100 kilometres of forest and wilderness. This means that we share the vineyard with an abundance of native plants and wildlife. We're constantly inspired by the scenes we see every day and aim to reflect this in our wines." Eagles Rest
New South Wales
New South Wales is home to more than 500 wineries across 16 wine regions that produce a range of extremely diverse wines. The regions are Canberra District, Cowra, Gundagai, Hastings River, Hilltops, Hunter Valley, Mudgee, Murray Darling, New England, Orange, Perricoota, Riverina, Southern Highlands, Shoalhaven Coast, Swan Hill and Tumbarumba.
Hunter Valley is New South Wales' best known wine region and has long stolen much of the spotlight . It is also Australia’s oldest continuous wine region - the first vineyard at Wyndham Estate was established in 1828 using cuttings supplied by viticulturist James Busby, widely considered the father of Australian wine. Semillon is perhaps the most iconic wine of the Hunter Valley and is among the greatest and most distinctive wines of Australia - if not the world.
New South Wales' wine regions have a wide range of microclimates. The Great Dividing Range has a substantial influence on the climate of many of the viticultural areas. The regions of higher elevation, such as Canberra District, Canberra District, Orange and Tumbarumba have cooler climates with more continental influences. These regions are responsible for some of the State's most enticing chardonnay, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, riesling and sauvignon blanc. They, together with the Hunter Valley, which by contrast, is very warm, with high humidity and a large amount of rainfall during the growing and harvest season, produce the bulk of the high quality wine in New South Wales.