This has attractive red berries with some earth, crushed-stone, forest-wood and coal-dust notes, too. The palate is flavorful, yet elegant and has deep, red-fruit flavors with smooth-honed tannins. Juicy, long and fresh. Drink or hold [till 2030]. Score - 93. (jamessuckling.com, Oct. 27, 2020)

This comes from HVD young vine (40 years old) and Army Block on Mistletoe Lane (30-40 years old). Very aromatic and floral, slight cut fennel, lemongrass, lime, white peach. Tight and flinty, pure acidity, feels and tastes great, a little bit powdery in texture, and finishes long with plenty lime and Disprin flavour. There's a succulence and richness to this wine, though it keeps itself trim and classic all the same. A top release, and it's so delicious now, you don't really need to wait (though you could). It's a toss up between 93 and 94 points, though I'm going for the latter as it's just so tasty. Drink: 2025-2035. Score - 94. (Gary Walsh, winefront.com.au, Aug. 20, 2025)

The 2017 Vat 1 Semillon represents an excellent Semillon vintage in the Hunter Valley, and it is here that we start to see the majesty of aged Semillon begin to unfold. Sun-drenched hay, caper brine, wisps of black tea, crushed shells, a whiff of Szechuan peppercorn, lemongrass, green apples and cold buttered toast. In the mouth, the wine is texturally silky (with a weighty fall, like heavy gauge silk) and lingering. It moves with momentum rather than outright speed (like watching a whale shark swim: they might move slowly, but they swim fast), and it has a clarity and freshness in the mouth that is astounding. This is a super wine, an evocative wine, an imaginative wine. It's a wine on the up, with miles to go before it sleeps... Drink date: 2022-2047. Score - 97+. (Erin Larkin, robertparker.com, Dec. 30, 2022)

100% Sémillon. Those who long for freshness, restraint and petite shapeliness in white wine paired with a bracingly acidic palate shouldn't confine their search to the northern hemisphere's high-latitude wines. Australia's great original, Hunter Valley Semillon, offers just this profile in youth - with the added lure of additional layers of perfume, complexity and character as the cellar years pass. This classic example is, at six years old, on the cusp: those unique scents of lime, parsley and rue are beginning to deepen, while the lean, saline edge of youth is beginning to soften and open. It's as pure and pristine as any Riesling, any Coteaux Champenois, any Txakolina, though its restrained fruit characters if anything makes it even more amenable than those wines at table. Best in Show. Score - 97. (Decanter World Wine Awards, 2022)

The HVD (Hunter Valley Distilling) Vineyard was planted in 1908, and the fruit for this 2017 HVD Semillon was sourced from the Sign Post block within it. The 2017 vintage was an exceptional season for Semillon in the Hunter, and the nose here leads with sun-drenched honeysuckle, green apple skins, caper brine and crushed shells. In the mouth, the wine is gentle swaying on the brink of evolution; it's still so tight and glassy, but it's starting to hint at the enveloping texture and complexity that will develop over the next couple of years. A marvel. Highly recommended. Drink date: 2022-2042. Score - 95+. (Erin Larkin, robertparker.com, Dec. 30, 2022)

A radically different bouquet with aromas of black fruits, black olive, French oak and earth leads into a vibrant dark berry palate. A truly fascinating wine, at the moment polarising opinions. It does have one more trick up its sleeve: a mouthwatering, sweet and sour (in the best sense) finish and aftertaste. Drink by: 2057. Special Value. Score - 96. (James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au, Aug. 1, 2019)

An outlier of the range, moving away from the spiritual Hunter turf. Ancient Cambrian soils, the oldest in the world. This wine was once a behemoth. Today, tidily compact and eminently drinkable despite the fuller weight, sweeter brood of fruit and the reductive ode to tension. Tapenade, blue fruit, iodine and a hint of menthol. A little gritty across the edges, but will placate those on the hunt for richer, slightly throaty styles. Drink or hold. Score - 92. (Ned Goodwin, MW, jamessuckling.com, Sept. 12, 2023)

From an iconic family-owned producer established in 1858, this is a modern-styled Australian Chardonnay that was fermented in stainless steel before seeing five months in a mix of new and older French barriques. This regimen puts the emphasis on the fruit rather than the oak, allowing the bright, juicy stone fruit and snappy citrus to shine atop a gentle oak spice. Enjoy now through 2025+.