The Golden Dream: Semillon

Directions

Golden-skinned Semillon is a dream of a grape. It’s easy to propagate, grows vigorously, fruits generously, and is largely resistant to disease. It can be vinified bone-dry or sweet; oaked or unoaked. It can stand distinctively as a single varietal; or lend itself to a tangy white blend. The one chink in Semillon’s armour is its thin skin, which makes the grape susceptible to Botrytis cinerea. But Sem turns this tiny flaw into a devastating feature, dishing up magnificently honeyed, full-bodied dessert wines, such as the famous Château d'Yquem.

A CUTE CUTTING

Semillon is native to France (where it enjoys the comfort of an acute over its e: SÉMILLON). In its Bordeaux home, Sém is blended with Sauvignon Blanc and a splodge of Muscadelle to make Bordeaux Blanc; or else is left on the vine to allow the noble rot to perform its weird, withering witchcraft, and emerge as beguiling Sauternes. The variety arrived here in Australia in the 1830s - one of hundreds of cuttings among James Busby’s imports - and endearingly (if surprisingly) made itself at home in the Hunter Valley.

It doesn’t make sense, and technically, it shouldn’t be possible (Ridicule! C'est impossible!): the warm, humid Hunter Valley climate, and frequent summer rain, would not normally be expected to produce crisp, zesty whites of great stature. And yet it does.

HUNTER HERO

Hunter Valley Sem is picked early, at low baumé (the measure of sugar in the juice) – resulting, naturally, in low alcohol (usually 10 – 11%). Grapes get the full kid glove treatment: gentle handling, minimal skin contact, cold fermentation in stainless steel, and the wine is bottled as soon as fermentation is complete. Although Semillon can happily take oak maturation, Hunter Valley Sem is rarely oaked. The result is a pale (almost clear) wine, with aromas of citrus, straw, and lanolin, and a bracingly acidic palate. With its assertive crispness and intriguing minerality, young Hunter Valley Semillon is regarded as one of the truly great dry white wines of the world.

But when HV Sem is allowed to age, real magic occurs. The colour deepens to a rich golden hue. The palate takes on extraordinary depth, with toasty, honeyed, grilled nut characters, textural lanoline, and a backbone of racy acidity. Most HV Sem begins to exhibit the early stages of this fascinating metamorphosis after just a handful of years in bottle, and many are capable of aging for decades.

SEMI-WHO?

Semillon was once one of the world’s most widely planted varieties, yet, despite its accommodating disposition and undeniable appeal, it is today one of the world’s most underrated wines. Even our globally admired Hunter Valley Sem is shamefully overlooked by Aussie wine drinkers.

An early identity probably crisis didn’t help. Up until the 1990s, Hunter Valley Semillons were variously - and confusingly - labelled Hunter River Riesling, Hock, White Burgundy, and even Chablis. Sem was in dire need of a makeover. And it got one from Western Australia.

SEMI GETS A BESTIE

Semillon’s confused and conservative image received some much-needed va-va-voom, when it hooked up with alluring, freewheeling Margaret River Sauv Blanc. Suddenly now there were aromas of peach and pineapple, sassy tropical fruit flavours, and a fine line of complementary grassiness. In return, Sem gifted Savvie body and texture (and a bit of class, truth be told). A Great Australian Classic was born.

THE HAPPY ENDING

Today, Sem is grown right across the country – although in nowhere near the volumes it once was: In the Hunter; in the Barossa (where it makes richer, riper styles, sometimes fermented in barrel); in Clare; and in cool-climate Adelaide Hills, where the style is more restrained. In New South Wales’ Riverina, Semillon is inoculated with Botrytis cinerea (the ‘noble rot’), to create unctuous and luscious dessert wines.

And of course, the Sem Sauv Blanc love affair that started in WA continues unabated. But is our charming, old-fashioned Sem forever lost to the extroverted allure of fruitsome Savvy? Or will there be a long, slow, bottle-aged comeback for the golden grape?

Only time will tell.