Bottle Of The Week

I'D better be honest and confess that, when I first tasted mature Hunter Semillon some years ago, I didn't know what to make …

I'D better be honest and confess that, when I first tasted mature Hunter Semillon some years ago, I didn't know what to make of it. Lemon curd and burnt toast? Quinces and smoke? It's so different from every other white wine in creation that there are no reference points, so you just have to be brave and hurl yourself into its luxurious embrace. Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Hunter Valley Semillon, McWilliams, 1994 (outlets above, usually £9.99) is wonderfully seductive, and you can expect to love it more over the next 10 years at least. How often has that been true of a first date?