Semillon is the most popular white grape variety in Bordeaux, Graves and it is also the main key in Sauternes. Moreover this grape is grown all over the world with good results: Chile has the biggest production of Semillon in the world and Australia and California both invested in Semillon. In Australia this variety was introduced in the early 1880s and at one time it was the most planted white grape. Even though the vineyards today are dominated by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, it is still very popular in the Hunter Valley. For California the highest acreage for Semillon was reached in 1981 whit 2.800 acres. Currently almost 1.500 acres of Semillon are planted in California and 725 in Washington state.
Semillon is easy to cultivate and it is often used in new wine regions to test the soils and climate. It is also a vigourous vine which produces heavy bunches that can reach high alcohol levels as a result of their considerable sugar contrent. It grows well in rich, heavy soils and it produces lots of thin-skinned berries that ripen early. Berries have a rich yellow color at maturity even though consitent sun exposure can turn the color into amber-pink. If the climate is to warm it is possible to experience sunburn and raisining.
The vines are resistant to various diseases, except to rot, which most often is not the destructive one but the noble one, Botrytis Cinerea. This rot is used to create a wide range of late-harvest dessert wines such as Chateau d'Yquem, wines from Monbazillac and Sauternes. Instead of ruining the taste, Botrytis Cinerea penetrates the thin skin of the grapes and attacks the sugars contained in the berries. The result is a higher concentration of flavours and great complexity. A Botrytised wine is always golden in color.
Semillon is a variety widely used in blends to add balance to other wine varieties. A 100% Semillon wine, according to climate and techniques, is full-bodied, soft, even fat sometimes. The aroma will remember of yellow flowers, honey, nuts and butter. Neverthless, Semillon is often blended with the herbaceous and acidic Sauvignon Blanc or with the delicate and fruity Chardonnay in order to add balance, weight and richness. This grape also plays another very important role: it represents 80% of the blend in one of the most fine and expensive dessert wines: Chateau d'Yquem. The other 20% is Sauvignon Blanc: this proportion became a classic blend and it is often utilized in many sweet wine areas of Bordeaux around the river Garonne: from Sauternes and Barsac to Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.
Also California tried in 1956 to reproduce the magic taste of French Sauternes. Thanks to Myron Nightingale, winemaker for Cresta Blanca winery, an elegant dessert wine was made for the first time spreading the spores of the noble rot, Botrytis Cinerea, on Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Using Botrytis Cinerea affected grapes limits the production of wine. A rot-related quote says that "Every vine, instead of producing one bottle of wine, only produces one glass".
Semillon is also used in many others blends: it is important to mention that the famous white wines of Chateau Haut Brion and Chateau Laville Haut Brion use up to 50 percent of Semillon. This grape variety pure or as part of a blend, it produces a wine that can be drunk young or aged. In the first case it will be more fresh with peach, banana and some herbal or vegetal notes such us grass, bell pepper or asparagus; in the second case, especially if aged in oak barrels, the wine will have more complex nuances. The aromas will remind of banana, apricot, vanilla, butter, oak, smoke. The typical fragrance of honey will always be present if Botrytis Cinerea affected grapes have been used.
Food and wine Pairings:
Semillon pairs well with fish and cheese. If the wine is dry, it is better with semi-hard texture cheeses; if the wine is sweet it is perfect with Roquefort or Stilton: these two cheeses seems to be the perfect pairing because of their complex flavours partially due to rot as well.
