Usher Tinkler Death BY Semillon 2024

Hand-picked from 40-year-old estate Semillon vines, destemmed and wild-fermented on skins for around ten days without any added sulphur, then pressed to neutral old oak (previously used for Chardonnay) for malolactic fermentation and roughly three months' ageing before bottling unfined and unfiltered. The result is textural and grippy rather than the bone-dry, stainless-steel style Hunter Semillon is known for — green chilli, white peach, kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass over a savoury, orange-wine structure.

The Hunter is warm and maritime, so fruit here ripens two to four weeks earlier than in most Australian regions. That early ripening shapes the classic bone-dry style. Death by Semillon keeps the low alcohol, 11 percent, but takes the skins along for the ride.

Skin contact turns the wine a bright gold and adds tannin to the racy acidity the region is famous for. The producer's own notes add yellow flowers, candied orange and dehydrated pineapple to the chilli and lime. Full malolactic softens the acid a little and fills out the body. The name is about risk taking, and the rabbit on the label stands for survival by unconventional means.

Drink it young rather than cellar it. It is sealed under Diam. Cured meats, Taleggio, pickled vegetables, a Thai curry or roast chicken all stand up to the grip.