Pepper Tree

Pepper Tree

An Australian estate based at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. The Hunter is one of the oldest wine regions in the country and one of the warmest and wettest — which is why it is known for Shiraz and Semillon rather than for Cabernet.

The range

Shiraz is the backbone, in a run of single-site wines: Tallawanta, Coquun, The Gravels and The Pebbles, each named for the vineyard it comes from. Alongside them sit Breccia Shiraz Cabernet and Block 21A Cabernet Sauvignon, plus Venus Block Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon.

What to expect

Hunter Shiraz is not Barossa Shiraz. It is lighter in body and lower in alcohol than most Australian red the Hong Kong market sees, and it is built for the table rather than for impact. If you have written off Australian red as heavy, this is the region that argues back. The single-vineyard bottlings are the ones worth cellaring; the Cabernet blend and the whites are for drinking.

Serving

Reds at 16–18°C. Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon at 10–12°C.