Hungerford Hill Semillon 2008

Hunter Valley is the place for Semillon, and I've been trying them, slowly, over the past couple of years. They aren't always easy to find though, so when I saw this at Oddbins I bought some.

Low in alcohol (10%), it's quite tart and it's dry. I confess I'm not very knowledgeable about this style of wine - is this because the grapes don't get any riper? Standard citrus character, plus a sort of nutty flavour in the background. Interesting, but possibly just short of pleasant.

I think this is where bottle ageing comes in, which is traditional with Hunter Valley Semillon. I'm assuming this would improve with age, because now I'm not sure I would drink it again. Hard to give it a fair score, but the one I gave was based on it's current state.

I'm aware that I'm always drinking Hunter Valley Semillon too young, and one of these days I'll blog about an older one (I've got a Tyrell's Vat 1 2002 waiting, and I tucked away a 2005 Tim Adams a couple of years ago).

Hungerford Hill

Semillon 2008

Hunter Valley, Australia

Oddbins

~£10

2.5/5

Oddbins Discount Codes

Grandissime 'Grande Reserve' Bergerac Blanc 2009

Bergerac is a French wine region not too far from Bordeaux, and it produces wines from the same grape varieties. I'm not too experienced with it, but I suspect it may be a source of good-value wines that may have similar characteristics to the wines of Bordeaux.

This one for example (I'll ignore the half-price thing for now) is a perfectly acceptable white wine for a fiver. Very similar to a white Bordeaux (Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion blend), it's crisp, clean and light.

There is a red on offer as well, and I bought a bottle but have yet to try it. A friend of mine who has though keeps going back and buying more.

Grandissime

Grande Reserve Bergerac 2009

AOC Bergerac, South West France

Sainsbury's

£4.99 (£9.99)

3/5

Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Semillon 2008

This was recommended to me by my local Oddbins store manager. I had attended a tasting there a couple of weeks ago, and decided to purchase some wine (more on what I bought in future posts). I was buying with a friend, and we needed to make up a case of 12 to get a discount. I asked for a Semillon, and this is what I got.

I find Semillon intriguing. It doesn't enjoy the popularity of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, the critical acclaim of Riesling, or the mass-market appeal of Pinot Grigio. It's the main grape used in the sweet wines of Sauternes, and it's also used as a blending grape with Sauvignon Blanc (in white Bordeaux or Australian white blends). However, use of it as a dry varietal wine is limited, normally to the South Australia and New South Wales regions of Australia, where it can produce long-lived wines of complexity.

Fleur du Cap's motto is "wines inspired by nature". This particular wine is hand-picked, matured in oak on its lees and bottled without filtration, the aim being minimal interference.

This example is from South Africa. Stellenbosch, to be exact. It is produced by The Bergkelder, a "wine centre", which seems to be a combination winery, shop, museum and cellar. Fleur du Cap is the brand name of the wines they produce.

The nose and palate are initially dominated by lime. The nose isn't particularly forthcoming actually. I'm finding this wine hard to describe. The palate is very rich, not sweet but rich. Lemon furniture polish, with a long lingering finish. I usually find Semillon a bit strange, but I think that's part of its charm, and I keep coming back for more. It's great with food - tonight it was parma ham-wrapped chicken stuffed with Boursin.

It's not cheap (£10.99, £8.79 as part of a mixed case of 12), but it's not over-priced. Good Semillon falls in this price category.

Fleur du Cap

Unfiltered Semillon 2008

Stellenbosch, South Africa

Oddbins

£10.99 (£8.79 as part of a mixed case of 12)

3.5/5

Tesco Finest Denman Vineyard Semillon 2006

Ah yes, the magic of Hunter Valley Semillion. I've heard it so many times - this special terrior, you can put this wine away for ages and it develops into a complex, nutty, magical brew that is utterly unique to this part of Australia.

I suppose to test this out I shouldn't be using a £7 wine from Tesco. But then again, maybe I should? This is, after all, a Tesco Finest wine. And it is from Hunter Valley, where Semillion grows and matures like no other place on earth.

I bought two bottle of this (it was on offer for £4.99). One I drank right away, and the other is getting the cellar treatment for as long as possible. So how was the one I drank right away (with 3 years bottle age)? It was - OK. I think Semillon is a bit of an acquired taste. It's nutty, limey and savoury. It's like a Fino Sherry almost - maybe not immediately likable but is intriguing and grown-up, and a good food wine.

Tesco

Denman Vineyard Semillon 2006

Hunter Valley, Australia

Tesco

£4.99 (£6.99)

3/5

St Hallett Poacher's Blend 2007

This is a really good wine. I was planning to make a recipe from my Wagamama cookbook, and for some reason I thought an Australian Semillion would go nicely with it. I instructed our (Australian) guest to pick one up on the way over, and he came up with St Hallett Poacher's Blend.

It's a winner. It's blend of Semillion, Sauvignon Blanc and (?!) Riesling. You really can detect all 3 grapes in this blend, whether in the nose or the palate. It has zestiness, a rich, full mouthfeel with a lingering finish, and a nice, aromatic quality to it. It matched the food perfectly (Yaki Soba made with ramen noodles instead of soba), and it disappeared so quickly during the meal that I didn't really get a chance to try it on its own after. Brilliant.

St Hallett
Poacher's Blend 2007
Barossa Valley, Australia
Waitrose
£7.99
4/5

Tim Adams Semillion 2005

This wine was Oz Clarke's number 1 pick in his wine buying guide for 2006. So naturally I ran out and bought a case of 6 from Tesco. That was 2 years ago and I still had 2 bottles left. I'd never had Australian Semillon before, at least not on its own. It's usually blended with either Chardonnay or, like white Bordeaux, with Sauvignon Blanc.

When I first tried it I thought it was very odd. It seemed to taste different with every sip, and I wasn't sure if I liked it. I'm still not sure to be honest. This particular wine is supposed to age quite well, and I'm not sure if 2 years has made much of a difference. It's still acidic enough to run your car battery on, and there is still a pronounced oaky nose and flavour to it. It's interesting to say the least. I'd say it's a good food wine.

I'm going to let my last bottle age for a couple of years longer and see what happens.

Tim Adams
Semillion 2005
Clare Valley, Australia
Tesco
£9
3/5