Whisper it: the Hunter's ‘once in a lifetime’ white-wine vintage of 2013 may have competition. That's Andrew Thomas's tentative assessment. Tentative, not because there is any doubt about the extraordinary quality of his Semillon from 2025, but untimely January rain in some parts of the valley initially dampened some growers’ expectations. "But out of the 26 years now I've been working on the vineyard, 2013 is number one,” says Thomas, “and I haven't been as excited about hitting those levels until now. So, we'll see. I mean, we won't know for 10 or 15 years." Thomas experienced an ideal, relatively dry growing season from budburst to vérasion, with the vineyards looking picture perfect in the runup to harvest. A couple of January storms tested the nerves, but ultimately the season yielded beautifully ripe fruit with crystalline acidity. Look at the wines now, and there's tension and transparency and, within, compressed dimensions waiting to unfurl. Vintage 2025 marks a welcome return for O.C. after wingless grasshoppers decimated the vineyard on Oakey Creek Road in 2024. Thomas had initially intended to get a riper, fleshier Semillon from this vineyard to contrast with Braemore. “At the end of the day, man versus nature, nature always pushes back and wins,” says Thomas. As it transpires, O.C. is the single-site expression with the most lemon-focused purity and precision. “It's all about that lovely, pure line of citrus acidity and length," says Thomas. "O.C. is the one that's like, where's the oysters?" Then we come to Braemore. Thomas notes that O.C. shares Braemore’s shape, clarity and Hunter classicism and may even match its cellaring potential. “But somehow, Braemore always floats to the top, with that pure, vineyard-derived energy and internal intensity,” Andrew says. Those who know the wine are familiar with its tightly wound character within a cocoon of generosity that makes it approachable and texturally compelling. “In ’25, the tension on its coiled spring just feels electric.” From Hunter Semillon’s equivalent of Bodhi’s 50 Year Storm in Point Break, the 2025 season has delivered a benchmark, and, let’s face it, stunning-value suite of whites from a Semillon GOAT. In the words of film critic Marjorie Rosen—memorably mined by The Smiths— “How immediately can we be gratified? How soon is ‘now’?”