Sémillon

Sémillon is an unsung hero - a hardly drunk traditional grape that makes pithy, powerful whites. Sem is easy to grow, with thick skins susceptible to only the very best disease - noble rot or Botrytis - which concentrates its rich flavours to become the oily flesh of legendary dessert-wine, Sauternes. In Bordeaux’s dry whites it is mostly a blender, adding body and depth to Sauvignon Blanc’s perfume and acidity. Australian old vines now produce the modern classics of dry Semillon, showcasing its engaging heavy-but-light balance - i.e. real body and depth behind a strangely delicate palate of lemony citrus pith, grass and honey, gaining over decades a distinctive lanolin and waxy-mineral dimension.