Hayes Family Semillon Fromm Vineyard 2021

Hayes Family Wines is a small, family-owned producer based in Stone Well, on the Western Ridge of the Barossa Valley. Founded by Brett Hayes and helmed by winemaker Andrew Seppelt — a Barossa veteran with over 25 years' experience, including a stint as GM and winemaker at Torbreck — the label is built on old, dry-grown vineyards farmed with minimal intervention, letting each site and vintage speak for itself. The Estate Vineyard is Certified Organic and Certified Sustainable, and Hayes has carried a five-star rating in the James Halliday Wine Companion every year since launching.

2021 will be remembered as an almost faultless Barossa Valley vintage, following the more challenging years that came before it. Good spring rains meant the growing season began with genuinely good soil moisture for the first time in years, followed by a warm, dry run that produced balanced, healthy canopies and an average crop of exceptionally high-quality fruit — arguably the best in a decade, if not longer. Flavour and colour development in the reds, and overall quality across the board, was outstanding. Another extremely good Barossa vintage in the making.

This Semillon comes from 100% old-vine Madeira clone fruit grown in Williamstown, in the Southern Barossa — vines now well over 100 years old, genuine centenarians. Hand-picked, hand-sorted and destemmed.

Light straw in colour, tinged with green, the 2021 Fromm Vineyard Semillon is extraordinarily fresh and bright in its youth. The nose is a beautiful spring bouquet of lemon and lime, backed by cleansing acidity throughout. A wonderful wine to enjoy through the warmer months — but given the calibre of the 2021 vintage, this is also a genuine cellaring special worth tucking away.