Hunter Valley Wines
Did you know the Hunter Valley is the birthplace of Australian wine? Located in New South Wales, the Hunter Valley includes the region of Hunter, and the subregions of the Upper Hunter Valley, Broke Fordwich and Pokolbin.
Just a two-hour drive from Sydney, the oldest wine region in the country is celebrated for its award-winning wines, particularly semillon – expressions both ready to drink and those with strong ageability – and shiraz. Some of Australia's oldest shiraz vines are planted in the Hunter, resulting in wines with structure, spice and dark fruit flavours.
Alongside the flagship grapes, the region produces distinctive, traditional chardonnay as well as carving out space for varieties such as fiano.
It is a region guaranteed to provide a jam-packed itinerary. However, if you can't visit the Hunter Valley just yet, you can taste the region from the comfort of your own home. Below are seven wines that showcase the quality and distinctiveness of the region.
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Hunter Valley wines to try
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Mount Pleasant
Lovedale Semillon 2025
Hunter ValleyCrafted exclusively from the '46 plantings, this outstanding semillon embodies purity and integrity. It is shy, detailed and slatey, though with softness, and although it needs time to resolve, the detail, power, finesse and class set the tone for what is to come. Glass-like purity, clarity and perfection, made from the finest free-run cut, fermented cool and clean. Lemon and lime blossoms dance around the sheerest core of acidity. Poised for greatness, this is one for the cellar, though there will be a real temptation to drink it now. -
Pepper Tree Wines
Coquun Shiraz 2024
Hunter ValleyRigorously selected, hand-harvested fruit from the best low-yielding blocks of the estate Tallavera vineyard in Mount View. The result is a stunningly fragrant wine that impresses from the first pour. It has a distinctive personality, combining mulberry, dark cherry and intense red plum fruit. The palate is composed and quietly confident, then magnificently expansive, with flavour building through the mid-palate and flowing effortlessly to the close. Structural in the best sense, showing impressive vitality, intensity and length. -
Briar Ridge Vineyard
Briar Hill Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2025
Hunter ValleyFine, long and delicious, with green apple and bright lemon flavours and a strong flinty overlay. The palate is fabulously tight, with impressive intensity and line. Focused, intense and mouth-watering. -
Krinklewood Biodynamic Vineyard
Basket Press Shiraz 2024
Broke Fordwich McLaren ValeAn utterly glorious, fragrant wine with energy and depth. Impressive fruit concentration with a velvety flow. The core of plum and raspberry fruit is enhanced by flecks of Turkish delight, dark chocolate and blood orange. It is made from an equal blend of hand-picked, basket-pressed McLaren Vale and Broke Fordwich fruit, with the Broke Fordwich component undergoing a subtle ripasso over the McLaren Vale skins, adding extra layers, texture and complexity. Composed, complete and fabulous. -
Briar Ridge Vineyard
Limited Release Fiano 2025
Hunter ValleyHeady, layered and compelling, with glacé pear and grapefruit pith, plus exotic notes of feijoa and dried pineapple. Bursting with deliciousness, with impressive depth, texture and length. The phenolics give shape, while a gentle savoury sulphide edge lifts the sophistication. A little air and a chill bring the wine to life. -
Pepper Tree Wines
Single Vineyard Tallavera Shiraz 2024
Hunter ValleySourced from the Tallavera vineyard in Mount View, this is a generously fruited, fleshy wine with excellent density and suppleness, underpinned by spice and a touch of warmth. Delicious and moreish, it is rounder and less structured than the Coquun, yet still delivers impressive intensity and length. -
Winmark Wines
Biosis Blanc de Blancs Chardonnay 2023
Sparkling | Hunter ValleyNamed after a David Ball sculpture on the Winmark Broke Fordwich vineyard. This is an excellent sparkling wine that shows the strength of the '23 vintage. Fragrant, fine and detailed from the first pour. It’s a wine of brightness and finesse, built on a solid core of fruit that's balanced by gentle savouriness. Gorgeous lemon, subtle baked bread, oatmeal and yoghurt. It is not overdone or overworked in any way and exemplifies the synergy of great fruit and respectful winemaking. Simply fabulous.
Image credit: Mount Pleasant.
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