Semillon
Posted by Roy on August 22, 2011The Hunter Valley is considered by many wine professionals as the best region in the world to grow semillon. Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson, writes “Hunter semillon is Australia’s unique gift to the wine world”.
Classic Hunter Semillon
This particular style of wine comprises the largest percentage of wine in my cellar. It is a unique style of wine. Due to the climate, Hunter semillon develops flavour earlier than normal. These grapes are generally picked around late January with good natural acid and relatively low sugar levels. The end result is a delicate crisp dry wine with citrus like characters and a long finish.
One of the amazing properties of Hunter semillon is it’s ability to age (mature in the bottle). It is not uncommon for these wines to develop for 10+ years. From about five years of bottle age, there is a notable increase in colour. The very pale, almost water like colour, becomes much more golden. The delicate citrus characters are still evident along with buttered toast, nutty and honey flavours. It is a wine that has had no contact with oak, however takes on some qualities of wines that have.
Notes on drinking Hunter semillon: Enjoy the young wines (1 to 3 years) chilled with prawns or oysters. Try pouring a splash of semillon in the oyster shell before eating. If you’re not a seafood lover, try this type of wine with salads, summer rolls or other delicate food.
I prefer my aged Hunter semillon a little warmer around (10 – 12 degrees Celsius). It can be enjoyed on its own but it will pair well with richer white meat dishes.
Hunter semillon can hit peaks and troughs as it ages, particularly between 3 and 5 years of age. At this stage in its life, it is not either a young refreshing wine nor an ageing complex wine. Somewhere lost in between.
Sparkling Semillon
There are many producers in the Hunter region that make sparkling semillon. These wines can be made using traditional methods (ie. methode champenoise), secondary tank ferments or injecting CO2. You can find straight sparkling semillon like Bimadgen’s or blended sparkling wines such as Tulloch Cuvee (semillon chardonnay) or Peterson House semillon pinot noir. There are also companies, such as First Creek, making spritzy semi sweet semillon following the Italian stlye of moscato.
Semi Sweet
Gundog Estate’s wine maker, Matt Burton, makes a semi sweet semillon by arresting the fermenting wine. This traps natural sugar in the wine and keeps the alcohol percentage lower. This popular and innovative style follows the SLA (Semillon Low Alcohol) success he made for Wandin Valley Estate.
Dessert Wines
There are two main types of dessert wines made from semillon found in the Hunter Valley, botrytis and freeze concentrated.
Botrytis semillon, is made in the style of a French Sauterne. This wine relies on a mould called botrytis cinerea that grows on the grapes and draws out the moisture concentrating the juice and sugars.
Freeze concentrated semillon is made in a similar style to ice wine. The sugar level is increased by freezing the juice and extracting the water component in the form of ice. The extra sweet juice is then fermented to around 10% alcohol with high levels of natural sugar remaining.
Fortified/Liqueur Semillon
Some producers such as Vinden Estate or Tintilla Estate have made ‘white Port’ wines from semillon. The partially fermented juice has been fortified with a spirit such as brandy to about 18% alcohol. The high alcoholic environment stops fermentation leaving natural sugar in the wine. Some of these wines can then be aged in old barrels to mature and soften the alcohol.