Grape variety
Semillon
Semillon: the grape behind Sauternes and white Bordeaux, and in Australia’s Hunter Valley a lean, long-lived classic. Origin, styles, food.
- Colour
- White
- Origin
- Bordeaux; parents not established, genetically close to Sauvignon Blanc
- Main regions
- Bordeaux (Sauternes, Barsac, Graves), Australia (Hunter Valley, Margaret River, Barossa)
- Typical aromas
- Lemon, wax, lanolin; with age toast, honey, marmalade; as a sweet wine apricot and candied fruit
- Classic pairing
- Sauternes: foie gras, Roquefort; dry Hunter Semillon: shellfish, fish
- Synonyms
- Hunter River Riesling (Australia, formerly), Groendruif (South Africa, formerly)
Semillon is the grape of the great sweet wines of Sauternes and, at the same time, the basis of Australian dry-wine classics: two worlds from a single variety. It comes from the Bordeaux area, where it has been grown for centuries. Its parents are not established; genetically it is close to Sauvignon Blanc. The skin is thin; young, the grape stays discreet, with lemon and grass, but it brings weight, a waxy texture and great ageing potential.
That thin skin makes Semillon prone to Botrytis cinerea, noble rot. In Sauternes and Barsac, where the humidity of the Ciron favours the fungus in autumn, this is a blessing: it draws water out of the berries and concentrates sugar, acidity and aroma. In most estates Semillon forms the bulk of the blend, completed by Sauvignon Blanc for freshness and a little Muscadelle. The wines smell of apricot, honey and candied fruit and last for decades. Château d’Yquem is the only estate ranked Premier Cru Supérieur in the 1855 classification.
Bordeaux makes dry whites too, above all in Graves and Pessac-Léognan, usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon gives body and breadth, Sauvignon Blanc freshness and scent; matured in barrel, these wines become rich and long-lived.
Its second home is Australia. In the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, north of Sydney, it has been grown since the 19th century and was long mistakenly called Riesling: Hunter River Riesling. The classic wines are picked early, stay light at often only about 11% alcohol and do without new oak. Young, they are lean, lemony and almost neutral; after five to ten years in bottle they develop toast, honey and marmalade without ever having seen a barrel. In Margaret River in Western Australia the Semillon–Sauvignon Blanc blend is a regional style, and the Barossa has old vines that give fresh, dry wines, sometimes partly oak-aged. At the Cape, too, it was once dominant: as Groendruif it made up most of the vines in the early 19th century, today only about one per cent.
At the table, much depends on style. Young, dry Hunter Semillon goes with oysters, shellfish and grilled fish; mature, with chicken and veal in cream sauce. Oak-aged white Bordeaux suits poultry and fish in butter; Sauternes goes with foie gras, Roquefort or fruit desserts.