IN THIS its 25th anniversary year, the Silkman family's First Creek operation has won a place among Australia's top family wine brands.
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That's been confirmed in the 2024 Halliday Wine Companion and the recent PKF 2023 Hunter Valley Wine Show.
The book describes First Creek as "a champion of the Hunter Valley", giving it the five black stars ranking of "an outstanding winery capable of producing wines of very high quality". Eleven of its wines scored 95 points and more out of 100 and three, the 2022 Limited Release Small Batch Vermentino, 2022 Winemaker's Reserve Semillon and 2013 Museum Release Winemaker's Reserve Semillon scored 97.
With the other Hunter-based brands of Pepper Tree and Leogate, First Creek was a finalist as Winery of the Year and the 2022 vermentinto was a best other whites and blends award finalist.
The 2023 Hunter show saw First Creek with four gold medals and three trophies, including the much-coveted Iain Riggs Wine of Provenance Trophy with its 2014, 2017 and 2023 Winemaker's Reserve Semillon wines.
The award launched in 2012 to focus on a group of wines of consistent style and quality over time. Entrants have to submit three different vintages of a same label wine, with a vintage spread of at least a decade.
The three 2014,2017 and 2023 Winemaker's Reserve wines are currently available as are the other trophy-winners - the First Creek 2023 Classics Semillon and 2023 Classics Verdelho.
First Creek began in 1998 when Greg Silkman, a former Newcastle-Lake Macquarie hotelier and Tamburlaine partner, and his wife Jenny bought land bordering First Creek, naming their venture after that watercourse.
Led by Greg Silkman as CEO and with his son Shaun as chief operating officer, First Creek's wine production is in the skilled hands of Liz Silkman and Annabel Holland.
Chief winemaker Liz began her stellar career with casual weekend work in Pepper Tree Pokolbin cellar door.
A Cessnock girl doing a University of Newcastle science degree, she took the job and it brought a deep interest in wine, prompting an Adelaide University winemaking degree and posts at Brokenwood and Tempus Two.
In 2006 she was dux of the Len Evans Tutorial, recognised as one the world's most exclusive wine schools, and in 2007 she was a finalist in the Australian Young Winemaker of the Year award.
Since joining her husband Shaun and in-laws Greg and Jenny at First Creek in 2008, she has won Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year on three occasions.
WINE REVIEWS
CURRENT-YEAR SEMILLON ACE
PRICE: $30
FOOD MATCH: spaghetti marinara
AGEING: eight years
RATING: 5 STARS
THIS Hunter Wine Show Marshall-Flannery Trophy best 2023 semillon First Creek 2023 Classics Semillon has straw hues, grassy scents and crisp, fresh lime front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows green apple, lemon curd, mineral and honey nuances and the finish has refreshing steely acid. It and the other trophy wines are at firstcreekwines.com.au and the McDonalds Road, Pokolbin, winery.
PROVENANCE PERFECTION
PRICE: $90 (with 2017 and 2023)
FOOD MATCH: crab souffle
AGEING: 10 years
RATING: 5.5 STARS
CHAIR of judges Sam Connew lauded the extraordinary quality of Wines of Provenance entries and this First Creek 2014 Winemaker's Reserve Semillon was one of the trophy-winning trio. It shines green-tinted gold, entices with honeysuckle scents and beguiles with elegant grapefruit front-palate flavour. The middle has white peach, melon, lime zest and toast and honey and the finish slatey acid.
VERDELHO SHOWS ITS CHARISMA
PRICE: $30
FOOD MATCH: quiche lorraine
AGEING: five years
RATING: 4.5 STARS
WINNING the Jay Tulloch Best Verdelho Trophy, the First Creek 2023 Classics Verdelho has green-tinted lemon hues, scents of cumquat and musk and front-palate gooseberry flavour. The middle shows pear, passionfruit and mixed peel and the finish flinty acid. The Tulloch 2023 Vineyard Select Verdelho, $24 at tullochwines.com and the Beyers Road cellar, won gold, missing the trophy by a whisker.
