Semillon

  • Aromas and Flavors : honey, lemon,citrus, linden, hay, fig, lanolin “waxy”
  • AKA:  (White Bordeaux)Graves, Sauternes, Monbazillac, Wyndruif, meaning “wine grape” in South Africa
  • Can be dry or sweet with low acid
  • In warmer climates, there is always danger of sunburn and raisining of the grapes
  • Grows mainly in the Bordeaux region and in the South West of France
  • Used along with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle in the making of Sauternes and Graves as they are quickly invaded by noble rot
  •  In Sauternes and Barsac it is traditionally blended 4:1 with Sauvignon Blanc, and a little Muscadelle
  • Semillon grapes make up 80% of the blend in the most expensive and famous dessert wine in the world, Château d’Yquem
  • Used to be the most planted varietal in Australia (often incorrectly labeled as Riesling)
  • Most California Semillon today is blended with Sauvignon Blanc and rendered dry
  • More grows in Chile than anywhere else on earth
  • In 1956, winemaker Myron Nightingale, of Cresta Blanca winery, made a dessert wine by spraying spores of Botrytis cinerea on semillon and sauvignon blanc grapes to produce Sauternes-like results
  • Until this time, the California climate had always been considered too arid for the Botrytis Mold to naturally exist at a high enough population level to any beneficial effect
  • Cresta Blanca changed hands due to financial issues and production ceased after the 1966 vintage