Tag Archives: Semillon

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 1999

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It’s been a surprisingly restrained Christmas chez Coldrey; numbers of both people and wine are slightly down on last year, so I’ve made it out the other side with my liver relatively intact. Of the bottles we did open, a theme seemed to emerge, that being old Australian white wines.

This was one of them. It’s been a few years since I had a bottle, and I see from my last note there’s been some variation in the condition of each bottle. Happily, this one was in excellent condition, sealed by a tight, clean cork. Considering I paid about $12 for it, it’s ageing remarkably well, gaining some additional flavours and softening ever so slightly in mouthfeel. It’s not, however, gaining intensity and, if this wine disappoints at all, it’s due to an impression of slightly dilute fruit. Aged notes, attractive as they are, haven’t yet filled in the gaps, and I don’t know if they ever will.

Even as one notes this about the wine, it remains a nice example of the style, with a set of flavours that is absolutely typical and an acid line that grants focus and precision to the palate. Honey and toast are in evidence and sit alongside primary fruit, with hints of the lovely waxy flavour and mouthfeel lovers of these wines crave. It’s pretty, light and starting to glow with bottle age. Bottles in good condition could no doubt be left for several more years.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant
Price: $A12
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Moss Wood Semillon 1999

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If Semillon had fashion on its side, I wonder how many more interesting wine styles we might see? Moss Wood seems to stubbornly stand by its terminally daggy Margaret River Semillon and, on the basis of this wine, I’m grateful it does.

I’ve not previously had a Moss Wood Semillon quite this old, so was very interested to see how a truly evolved examples tastes. The aroma shows notes that evidently derive from time in bottle, but the trick here is these notes show no coarseness whatsoever; instead, remnant primary notes of lemon and grass move meltingly into butter and honey, the latter more suggestions than full-throttle renditions of these broad aromas. It’s still vibrant at its core, but the overall impression is soft and elegant, like soft fabric with a subtle, tasteful sheen.

The palate has good presence and body right down its line. There’s a bit of primary sharpness both in terms of flavour and structure, but mostly this wine’s flavours are soft and delicate, rich in their way but not at all cloying. Mouthfeel slips this way and that, a slight waxiness lubricating movement over the tongue. This is the pleasure of aged white wine: sharp meets mellow, muscle becomes flesh. Quite seamless from entry through to finish, this moves with the confidence of someone only becomes more attractive with age (and who knows it).

Thank you to Mark Gifford of Blue Poles Vineyard for donating this to the party.

Moss Wood
Price: $NA
Closure: Cork
Source: Gift

McGuigan Bin 9000 Semillon 2004

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I recently spent an afternoon with the iconoclastic Peter Hall and his McGuigan winemaking team, pestering them with all sorts of questions and getting much back in return, including this bottle of wine to taste. This particular Bin 9000 was awarded Best Semillon in the Universe (I may have the name of the award slightly wrong) so I was naturally curious to taste it.

One comes at these things with a set of expectations, in this case that it would be a high octane style in the manner of Lovedale or Vat 1. Refreshingly, it’s an approachable wine in the context of Hunter Semillon, with a softness of mouthfeel and prettiness of flavour that strikes me as highly commercial. The nose shows gentle evolution, with typical aromas of honey and wax in addition to primary fruit, which is gently lemon-like in character. The whole is soft, caressing rather than slapping.

The palate echos these impressions with an ultra-clean, gently evolved flavour profile and the sort of acid structure that might win more fans to the style than not. Does this represent a hard line in Hunter Semillon? Hardly; it does, though, show typicité of flavour and a cuddly attitude without resorting to an obviousness of approach (residual sugar, and so on). Mouthfeel is showing signs of thickening and developing a waxiness that lovers of this style will relish.

Perhaps not one for purists, but the bottle, shared with friends, disappeared alarmingly fast, which perhaps speaks for itself.

Note: some quick research reveals the prize awarded to this wine at the International Wine & Spirit Competition was in fact that of International Semillon Trophy.

McGuigan Wines
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Flaxman Dessert Semillon 2010

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A cordon cut style, this wine hails from boutique producer Flaxman Wines. It’s shot through with authenticity, at least as far as the back label is concerned: hand pruned, hand picked, old vine, dry grown, low yielding. It’s a veritable checklist of cred. What I like most about the packaging, however, is the exceptionally attractive label design, something it shares with all the Flaxman wines.

To what’s in the glass, an initially funky, almost musty, aroma gives way to unexpectedly savoury notes mixed with tinned peach and pear. The savouriness is, I suspect, somewhat sulfur-driven, so may blow off with some time. I hope it does, because the fruit here is quite lovely, and surprisingly subtle for what can tend to be a straightforward style. The key to its interest is that it’s not overwhelmingly sweet, it holds something in reserve, which makes the whole thing a lot more sniffable.

The palate shows good freshness and balance, thanks to a pleasing interplay between sugar, fruit intensity and acid. Again, the wine surprises with its subtlety, being neither too sweet nor too bracingly acidic. Entry splashes the palate with cool, structural refreshment, taking a while to build a level of fruit intensity that is ultimately satisfying without ever being especially impressive. The middle palate is awash with a range of fruit flavours: fresh citrus, candied peel, ripe stonefruit, some syrup. The after palate becomes more savoury and textural, with perhaps a hint of minerality edging in. A nice, gentle finish brings things to a close.

The back label also says of this wine that it has “no story.” While its provenance and production suggest otherwise, it loses nothing by being judged purely for what’s in the bottle. Nice wine.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Scarborough White Label Semillon 2010

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It’s a truism that fresh Hunter Semillon is tough. All that acidity, a relative simplicity of flavour, etc. Indeed, we generally focus on what the wines become with bottle age — a honeyed, nutty wonder that embodies one of the most dramatic transformations in all of wine. I wonder, though, whether our collective tendency to lump young Semillon together works to obscure the very real differences these wines can show from one another when first released. Perhaps changing the critical dialogue around Semillon; elevating the value of the young form while retaining the aged’s deservedly prized place; might help us to appreciate and even enjoy the style at all stages of its evolution.

This wine is a case in point. For a young Semillon (oops, there we go again), it shows considerable complexity and character, much more than the cliché of “lemon juice and battery acid” might suggest. It’s actually as much about funky minerality as it is citrus. I’m not sure where those flavours come from (sulfur? carbon dioxide?) but I like the vibe and don’t mind that they fatten the aroma profile somewhat, creating a broader wine, more suitable for earlier enjoyment and faster maturation than one might expect from a premium label.

The palate is a slightly noisy mix of zingy texture — showing a little spritz and more than a little acid — savoury base notes and high toned florals. The texture in particular modulates between chalky, bubbly and surprisingly viscous. It’s worth drinking for this alone. The flavour here is again relatively broad, though I hesitate to suggest it shows much, or any, development. It’s just a fuller, softer style of Semillon, easier to approach than many while retaining enough of the angularity of this style to fit within the mainstream.

I’ve no idea how this will look in ten years’ time. What I do know is that it’s a fascinating, left-of-centre wine right now.

Scarborough
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Scarborough Green Label Semillon 2010

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Hunter Semillon’s renown is due largely to its ability to age in the most astonishing fashion. From young liquid neutral in flavour develops a complex, funky, rich wine that wears its bottle age with pride. It’s a style revered both in Australia (though arguably not as much as it should be) and abroad.

All of which is potentially problematic for Hunter Semillon made in a style designed for early drinking. The attraction of fresh young white wines is self-evident, but the most popular tend to be highly perfumed and of obvious charms. How to handle a variety, then, that wants to hold itself back until it has rested for more than a few years? The obvious answer is to mitigate the most challenging aspects of young Semillon (acid, neutrality) and bring forward those dimensions mostly likely to charm (fruit flavour, fullness of body). A winemaker risks vulgarising the varietal in the process, though, so it’s a fine line to tread.

This Scarborough wine makes a reasonable case for the value of drink-now Semillon. What I like most about it is that it doesn’t try too hard to please. There a few things more distressing than Hunter Semillon pushed in the direction of Sauvignon Blanc (even though, in other contexts, the two varieties are classic bedmates), and this wine certainly avoids an impression of unnatural styling. The nose shows relatively forward but still austere aromas of pebbles, herbs and tart citrus juice. No great complexity but, happily, good typicité. This reminds me of lawns mowed in Summer, the sound of cricket on the television, curtains drawn to keep the heat out.

The palate capitalises on the strengths of this varietal, with good presence and lively acid. It’s not forbidding, structurally, just fresh and zingy, which suits the style. Again, complexity of flavour isn’t a strong point, but I like the slightly mineral edge to what is a mostly citrus-driven flavour profile. Overall, it’s softer and blurrier than Semillons designed to age, and the lack of definition that results seems a well struck compromise, given the intent behind this wine.

Clean, clever and as tasty as one might reasonably expect.

Scarborough
Price: $A22
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Mount Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2008

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The Lovedale label is dear to my heart. Not only did the 95 turn me on the peculiar waxy mouthfeel that aged Hunter Semillon can sometimes show, but the 96 was the first wine I wrote up on Full Pour. 

Oh, and it’s generally a bloody good drop too. This one is not yet released. Interestingly for a wine style that tends to do quite well at the Sydney Royal Wine Show, this comprehensively failed to win any medals in its class in the 2009 show. On the basis of this tasting, it’s slightly atypical in its softness, and perhaps showing some of the coolness of the season in its flavour profile, but still an excellent wine.
Still full of CO2 spritz. Over an hour after pouring my first glass, there are still plenty of bubbles apparent and a noticeable influence on both nose and palate. Looking past the sparkling mineral water character, the aroma is already complex, if a bit all over the place. There’s lemon rind, toast, herbs and grass. I’m always impressed when young Hunter Semillon shows a range of flavours, as the best ones tend to do. The definition is slightly hazier than I’d like, but it’s expressive and seems built to accumulate aged notes.
Palate is very nicely structured. Quite full on entry, with a softness to the mouthfeel that temporarily masks a thrust of citrus fruit that shoots out from underneath and carries right down the line. More cut grass and pithy citrus; there’s good detail to the flavour profile, and it’s all quite lively thanks to the spritz and a firm, sherbet-like line of acid. It’s pretty young and raw, again with a haze of softness that drifts over the whole and adds a pretty, perfume-like influence to the wine. Excellent length.
Not remotely ready to drink, but should be fun with a few more years’ bottle age. Nice to see this with a screw cap.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Windowrie The Mill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009

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Some bottles I look at and presume, for one reason or another, I won’t be writing up. This – being a blend of which I’m not terribly fond – was one of them. But drinking it now, nicely chilled, I’m finding it really well made, so thought I’d jot down a quick note.

These wines are made for immediate quaffing, so to my mind need a particular balance of fruit, structure and (let’s face it) residual sweetness to faciliate their function. The nose is promising, with a shock of cut grass atop quite rounded fruit. There are hints of lychee and paw paw, along with the sharper passionfruit-like aromas one might expect from Sauvignon Blanc. Just pungent enough, fresh-smelling, and well-balanced. So far so good.
The palate follows through admirably. These sorts of wines aren’t going to break any records for complexity, but there’s still a bit going on here, with generous-enough fruit flavours running all the way along the line, propped up by slightly vicious acidity and a dollop of puppy fat to smooth the edges. I think there’s a bit of residual sugar — I find it well-judged — adding weight to the fruit without turning the flavours candied. 
Nice quaffer. Well done.

Windowrie
Price: $A16.99
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Tyrrell's Johnno's Semillon 2009

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Tyrrell’s has long made a habit of highlighting single vineyards in its Semillon porfolio, and this label continues the tradition. Small batch (250 dozen), old vines (1908), sandy soils; it oozes cred simply for what it is. Tyrrell’s has gone a step further here and vinified the grapes in a deliberately old fashioned manner, sending things off the authenticity scale entirely. Indeed, it’s the kind of wine that is so tantalising on paper, one half suspects it will be a disappointment in the mouth.

In fact, it has quite exceeded my expectations. I’ve drunk this over two evenings and it has hardly moved, perhaps softening slightly on day two. The nose shows typically straightforward young Semillon citrus, in this case surrounded by a range of other flavours, from chalk to cheese, that add complexity. It’s still austere and quite etched, just with a wider range of aromas than usual. It’s also quite expressive, something one can’t take for granted with young Hunter Semillon.
The palate is a wonderfully textural experience. The entry is immediate and flavoursome, tight acidity helping pure citrus flavour to burst onto the tongue. Before long, a mouthfeel that is part chalk and part sandpaper begins to register, along with increasing complexity of flavour. The wine remains very focused and intense, as befits its status as a quality Semillon, but the textural influences create a feeling of generosity, if not downright drinkability, that makes the wine quite accessible as a youngster. The finish is extremely long and fine, with great delicacy to its gradual taper.
 
I’m quite excited about how this wine will age. I hope Tyrrell’s persists with the style.

Tyrrell’s
Price: $A33.33
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Casa Lapostolle Sémillon Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay 2007

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Yesterday, I met up with an old friend in Viña del Mar, and much to my surprise he delivered a stunningly beautiful wedding present: Chilean wine, palm syrup, peaches, and chocolates. Wonderful stuff – and now my task is to drink at least four bottles of the wine over the next 48 hours because if I don’t I’ll have so much luggage that I can’t board the flight to Calama on Wednesday. Yikes! Thankfully, this is going to be a very easy task.There appears to be a very, very light carbonation to the wine; at the bottom of the glass are tiny bubbles (if you’re a Don Ho fan, feel free to sing along about now) and there’s a very light spritziness on the tongue. The color is bright and clean; it’s only on the nose where it gets interesting. It’s a very savory wine, reminding me more of good Burgundy than white Bordeaux somehow, with a very slight sulfury note mixed in with yeasty bread and an appealing lemony note. My favorite thing about this wine is the slippery, rich, full palate that is wonderfully textural and mouthfilling; there’s a slight spiciness to the finish with sprightly acidity as well.  It may have smelled like Burgundy, but it’s definitely more like a white Graves, wet stones and pastry cooked with lemon rind and cream, but also that spiciness that really makes it special.All in all this is good stuff (and to me personally, it’s also a reminder to stop drinking single varietal wines all of the time; blends like this seem much more complex and interesting, don’t they?). Thanks, Felipe, for the bottle – I’m looking forward to the next ones! Lapostolle
Price: $NA
Closure: Cork
Source: Gift