Hunter Valley

Australia is a vast country, its wine regions stretching over 4,000km from Margaret River south of Perth in Western Australia to Hunter Valley north of Sydney in New South Wales. Those regions vary so much, in soils, in grape varieties grown, and, more than I realised, in climate. Despite those differences, there is a huge level of support for and interest in other regions, even when they're hundreds of kilometres apart.

The one exception to this comradeship is Hunter Valley. Two Australian girls we met in Argentina informed us the wine was terrible. When we told people in South Australia that our Australian journey would culminate in Hunter Valley, the reaction was an incredulous yet muted, "Oh." In Victoria the reaction was more impassioned: "You're saving the worst to last!"

At first I didn't understand their dislike, dismissing it as simple jealousy. Hunter Valley is near Sydney, and its wine industry revolves around Australia's biggest city which is so far away from Australia's other wine regions. So I decided to ignore all those reservations, not least because I wanted to taste and discover more about the unique wine of Hunter Valley: Semillon.

We drove eight hours from Rutherglen through endless nothingness, bypassing the capital Canberra and Sydney (which we returned to). I expected Hunter Valley to be like Napa Valley: close to a major city, beautiful, and full of decorous tasting rooms and expensive restaurants. Instead, it's rather ugly, a flat valley with a small, truncated mountain range to the west, and its tasting rooms looked like they hadn't been touched since the 1970s. There were few restaurants, the locals were unfriendly, and it baffled me why people from Sydney - residents and tourists alike - visit the region so much. In short, all those negative opinions others had voiced were right.

Its climate is hot, humid, and windy. Those winds aren't refreshing, but blow the heat and humidity into one's face. The cloud cover smothers the heat further. Hunter Valley really isn't a region made for wine production, yet wine has been made here for two hundred years. James Busby, one of the founding fathers of Australian wine, settled here in the 1820s and the region's proximity to Sydney has sustained its wine industry. I can't imagine a region I'd less want to make wine in.

the one pretty view in Hunter Valley

 

semillon

For all of Hunter Valley's unsuitability for growing grapes, it produces a unique style of wine. Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the world's most ageworthy white wines, and I wanted to learn more about what makes the wine so individual. The answer is a paradox: the high acid, low alcohol wines are a result of the warm climate. The grapes ripen quickly in the heat and are picked early (in part to avoid the heavy rain and hail that falls before the end of the growing season). In the heat, the grapes have developed enough fruit flavour to give the wine body and structure but picking early ensures high acidity and low sugar levels. Once the wine is made, very little happens: it's aged for a couple of months in stainless steel before bottling. Young Hunter Valley Semillon is neutral and quite dull, with at best vaguely fruity, herbaceous aromas. As the wine ages, it changes into something much more interesting: waxy, nutty, and honeyed, rich but retaining the high acidity. Wineries delay releasing their best wines for at least five years, and Hunter Valley Semillon isn't worth drinking before then. This makes it one of the few white wines that genuinely improves with age. Try Brokenwood's ILR Reserve 2009 (A$75; $58 ✪✪✪✪✪ ) for a great example of how Semillon ages - this wine still feels remarkably young, with fresh acidity and grassy aromas, but nutty aromas are beginning to develop and there's a steely, mineral, waxy texture. Such wines are best enjoyed with food, especially with the Asian cuisine so popular throughout Australia.

shiraz

The other grape variety Hunter Valley is known for is Shiraz. Again paradoxically, the heat produces a restrained style, quite different from the wines of South Australia. The quick ripening and heavy autumn rains lead to an early picking, which means that the Shiraz wines aren't as rich and fruity. Their restraint made them seem quite dull in comparison, though there is an earthy texture which has led to comparisons to the northern Rhône - I felt the wines lack the depth and complexity to justify those comparisons.

Grape growing is so tricky in Hunter Valley that wineries source grapes from elsewhere, even from as far afield as Margaret River. It says a lot about Hunter Valley that the one wine we bought while there was a Shiraz from the cooler climate of Canberra ...

Western Australia

After landing in Perth (and recovering for a few days from jetlag), I repeatedly listened to Nick Cave's song "More News from Nowhere." That's no concidence, as Perth is one of the most isolated cities in the world, two thousand kilometres from its nearest major Australian city, Adelaide. Adding to that tangible sense of isolation, the main wine region, Margaret River, is another three hours south of Perth, and the other quality area, Great Southern, is five hours away. Despite its far-away location, not only is some great wine made, there are some very good microbreweries and Margaret River is the centre of a vibrant tourist industry.

Margaret River 

In 1965, Australia’s leading agronomist Dr. John Gladstones published a report commissioned by Western Australia's government into which areas of the state might be best suited to grape-growing. He pinpointed Margaret River, due to its Mediterranean climate (very wet winters and dry, hot summers) and its gravelly soils, which he rightly felt made it ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. Two years later, another doctor, Tom Cullity of Perth, planted vines, laying the foundation for Vasse Felix, still one of Margaret River's premier wineries. Others followed: Cullen planted vines in 1972 and Leeuwin Estate in 1974. The elegant wines, quite different from the bold, fruity wines often made elsewhere in Australia, caught the attention of the industry on the other side of the vast island, and now there are over 150 wineries in Margaret River, receiving acclaim around the world.

wine and surf rule in Margaret River

Margaret River’s location is certainly ideal. The best vineyards are located not far from the Indian Ocean, which moderates the climate. The proximity to the ocean means that there are lots of trees planted around the vineyards, to protect the vines from strong winds. The ocean also bring in lots of rain - Margaret River receives nearly 1,200mm of rain a year, 1,000 of which fall in the winter. These heavy rains provide the vineyards with water for the growing season; some wineries irrigate rarely and there’s plenty of water in reserve if it’s needed. Despite the summer heat, Margaret River has a long growing season, ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon while also adding complexity to the white grapes.

styles of wine 

tasting room pours are excessively small

Margaret River, particularly in the northern part, is textbook Cabernet country. It's usually blended with a bit of Merlot, but the latter grape is falling out of favour. It's being replaced by Malbec, which was originally planted by Tom Cullity in 1967 when the grape was much less fashionable than now and which adds a spicy, tannic structure to the wines. The Cabernet blends are full-bodied but not too tannic or fruity or overripe.

Shiraz, despite the best efforts of local winemakers, doesn't really work here, being too thin and dilute. Instead, it was the white grapes I found most interesting. The Bordeaux influence is again important, as Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon work together very well. Semillon is too unfashionable these days to make it commercially on its own, but its waxy, full-bodied texture complements perfectly the herbaceousness and acidity of Sauvignon Blanc. These blends are fresh and lively; those without any oak ageing are quite fruity, while those with oak ageing have complex, engaging aromas of vanilla, spices, and nuts. The latter are particularly ageworthy, with enough body and acidity to last five to ten years, if not more.

Some of the greatest wines being made in Margaret River, however, have nothing to do with Bordeaux. Chardonnay here is simply superb. Clones planted in the area take a long time to ripen, gradually building up aromatic complexity (I also heard that the grapes are susceptible to leaf roll, which slows the ripening). At the same time, acidity is preserved from the cooling breezes coming in from the ocean. Just as importantly, what I most liked about Margaret River in general is that winemakers don't interfere with the wines too much. The Chardonnays are by no means overoaked: oak is used to give the wines a spicy texture and body but the fruits and acidity are still very pure.

wines 

Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2015 (A$115; $90) 

Named after the founder of one of Margaret River’s first and still most distinctive wineries (they are certified biodynamic), this is an expensive Chardonnay but as good as it gets. This a smoothy, subtly textured wine: smoke, cream, and vanilla come from the oak, and there’s a dry, stone, mineral mouthfeel, given weight from the oak and aromas of stone fruits and cinnamon and all-spice. This is a white wine I would love to taste in another ten years, or even more. ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪

Stella Bella Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon 2012 (A$45; $35) 

Stella Bella have some great labels and some great names: Suckfizzle is their vineyard to the south of Margaret River named after a character from Rabelais. This is a terrific example of a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend with a little bit of maturity: a creamy vanilla texture from the oak, waxy, green, herbaceous aromas from the grapes, refreshing acidity, and a rich, round mouthfeel. Such wines are particularly food friendly - with white fish or white meat, and spicy dishes that are popular here given the proximity to south-east Asia. ✪✪✪✪✪

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Sauvignon Blanc 2015 (A$31; $24) 

Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc on its own has a crisp, refreshing acidity one would expect from the grape, but there’s also a richer texture to it than from, say, Marlborough in New Zealand. This Sauvignon Blanc is part of Leeuwin Estate’s “Art Series,” the labels of which feature a different work of art by an Australian artist each year. The most famous of the series is the Chardonnay (A$99; $75; ✪✪✪✪✪✪), one of the first wines back in the 1970s to show the potential for Chardonnay in Margaret River. The series also features Riesling, Shiraz, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I particularly liked this distinctive Sauvignon Blanc for its rich, dry, mineral texture, its stone and tropical fruits, and its interesting, spiky aromas of lemongrass and nettle. ✪✪✪✪✪

McHenry Hohnen Amigos White 2012 (A$28; $22) 

Due to the warm Mediterranean climate of Margaret River, there is some interest in planting Rhône and Spanish grape varieties. In theory, this should work but the old-fashioned winemaking techniques of the Rhône and Spain don’t always translate well to the New World - I tasted a few Tempranillos which were simply too clean and straightforwardly fruity. White blends are more successful, perhaps because they don’t need the long ageing. The Amigos, from the founder of New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay, is a blend of Marsanne, Chardonnay, and Roussanne and despite the presence of Chardonnay is a characteristic white Rhône blend: stone and tropical fruits, nuts, white pepper, and ginger aromas in a rich but balanced wine. ✪✪✪✪

Margaret River's first modern winery

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (A$37; $28) 

The original Margaret River winery produces a range of three Cabernet Sauvignons, including the high-end Heytesbury ($A90; $74; ✪✪✪✪✪). I also liked the mid-tier Cabernet (with 7% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot in the blend), a range which the winery introduced in 2013 as part of an expansion programme. This has a smoky texture, with intense, concentrated black fruit aromas and chocolate, coffee beans, and a spicy peppercorn finish. A very good example of the full yet balanced Cabernet blends of the region. ✪✪✪✪✪

Si Halcyon Merlot 2015 (A$40; $31) 

Si (named after owners and winemakers Sarah and Iwo) are an eclectic winery: they are based in the south part of Margaret River, away from the renowned vineyards of the north. They make wine from their small vineyard from vines planted in 1978 and also own 5ha of land in north-east Spain, making wine from Garnacha grapes (I can’t imagine the amount of travel that must involve). They’ve also got Shiraz in Great Southern, showing the good sense to ignore the Shiraz planted in Margaret River and concentrate on the best area in Western Australia for the grape. The philosophy is minimal intervention, with little sulphur added, and lots of experimentation. This makes their wines quite distinctive, and making a quality Merlot in a region where others feel it’s too green and astringent demonstrates the couple’s obstinate but quality-orientated temperament. This is a tight, wound, tannic wine, with red plums and black cherries giving it a juicy texture, with a dry, herbal, spicy finish. ✪✪✪✪✪

Established producers such as Vasse Felix show the long-term quality of Margaret River; more experimental producers such as Si point to the potential for the region to go in different directions. It’s quite a conservative region (as is Perth itself), so don’t expect much change just yet: just be assured of consistent quality.

Great Southern 

A region with more surprises, however, is Great Southern, which unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to visit. While in Perth I got to taste a few wines from the region. Its climate is more varied than Margaret River's, becoming gradually more continental as it goes inland. Shiraz has a rich, voluptuous elegance to the wines, characteristically Australian but with a spicy, game undertone. The subregion of Mt. Barker, which has a combination of Mediterranean and continental climates, is especially good for Shiraz. Another subregion, Frankland River, inland and more continental, specialises in Riesling, the cool nights keeping the acidity high. The wines I tasted had some sweetness to them, unusual for Australia - more of a German style, but still with a lime fruitiness. Great Southern is definitely a region to keep an eye out for.

The Value of Bordeaux

My difficulty with Bordeaux is that the wines I can afford to drink, I don't want; the wines I want to drink, I can't afford. Although the wines of Bordeaux are much imitated around the world, this is why their reputation has suffered in recent years. Inexpensive Bordeaux offers little of either the quality or value for money that similar wines from Australia, South Africa, Chile, or, indeed, other areas of France give, while the premium wines compete with more accessibly priced, yet still high quality, wines from all around the world (Napa is an exception to this rule, its market not too much different from Bordeaux's). Bordeaux relies too heavily on investors and the nouveaux riches of the US and China, instead of producing wines that the general consumer can afford to buy.

I went to a tasting in San Francisco that challenged this reading of Bordeaux's market, and which demonstrated that the Bordeaux wine industry is determined to compete at the lower end of the market by aiming to produce good-value, inexpensive wines. Whether those wines can compete with established New World brands remains to be seen.

whites

The dry white wine of Bordeaux has two advantages: it rarely fetches the exorbitant prices of the reds, making it often good value, and one of the two important grapes is Sauvignon Blanc, a grape riding the wave of international trends. The other grape is Sémillon, which back in the 1960s was the most planted grape in Bordeaux, black or white. Sémillon results in high-quality wines, but it's not fashionable, its waxy weightiness not always inviting. Put Sauvignon Blanc on a label, the wine sells; mention Sémillon, it stays on the shelf. As a result, Sauvignon Blanc is becoming more and more widely grown, and this is how the dry whites of Bordeaux are going to compete on the international stage.

There were sixteen dry white wines available to taste; eleven of them were Sauvignon Blanc dominant and these were the most inexpensive whites on show ($8-$20). They had characteristic grassy, vegetal aromas with a dry, refreshing acidity; simple, but pleasant and attractive wines. However, I am not sure how well they would fare on the international stage despite the affordable prices: the wines are not as pungently aromatic as New Zealand's, nor as steely and flinty as Loire's.

My overall impression is that $15 is when a dry white Bordeaux becomes interesting and engaging. That's also the price point when Sémillon becomes more involved in the blend, and the use of oak is more likely. My two favourite whites were Château Grand Abord (Graves, 2014; $17), which was 80% Sémillon and showed a creamy, lightly oaky spiciness and baked apples, and Château Respide-Médeville (Graves, 2013; $29), an almost equal blend of Sémillon and Sauvignon, with a little Muscadelle thrown in. The latter demonstrated everything good about white Bordeaux blends, with fresh, floral, stone fruit aromas, a nutty, spicy palate, with a refreshing acidity - but at $29 it's appealing to a very different market than the more inexpensive, green, vegetal Sauvignon Blancs.

reds

This is where pricing gets difficult and it's hard to find good-value wines. The inexpensive reds, which started at $10 at the tasting, just aren't that good. The tannins are bitter and green, the fruits far more restrained than similar wines from Australia or Chile, and there's little or no oak to give the wine structure or longevity. Most are not appealing, fruity, or forward enough for those consumers buying wine in the $10-15 range.

On the evidence of this tasting, quality red Bordeaux begins at around $25-30 and really kicks in at $30-40. That's a very difficult price bracket: more expensive than most consumers are willing to spend, competing with high-quality, arguably better value wines at the same price from around Europe and the rest of the world, but not expensive enough to attract the wealthiest customers.

Nevertheless, there are some good-value wines to be had for those willing to spend in that $30 price range. I was pleasantly surprised by the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation, which I had always dismissed as being rather basic (it can come from anywhere in Bordeaux, but has a slightly higher minimum level of alcohol than standard Bordeaux AC) - but it was only the pricey ones ($25-30) that impressed. The major appellations that offered good value were the Right Bank: being Merlot based and less aggressively tannic than the wines of the Haut-Médoc, they are fruity and inviting to drink at a young age. Château Moulin Pey-Labrie's 100% Merlot from Canon Fronsac ($28) had a lively acidity lifting the gripping tannins, with bright red plum and violet aromas, while Château de Viaud-Lalande's 2010 Pomerol ($30 - also 100% Merlot) had tannins well integrated with the ripe but not plump red fruits, with a nice spicy finish.

One more thing: Bordeaux's labels are hopelessly old-fashioned, most with a château seemingly drawn by a destitute artist from the nineteenth century possessing only a blunt pencil to draw with. In Bordeaux, a château simply refers to any winemaking enterprise - "a straggle of sheds," as Kingsley Amis puts it in On Drink, rather than an actual castle - but it devalues the whole Bordeaux brand when it's used with $10 bottles of wine. If Bordeaux is truly to compete with inexpensive wines from around the world, it needs to rethink its packaging as much as it does its quality.

Washington State

On a very wet afternoon, I visited three wineries in Woodinville, an area north west of Seattle where some of Washington state's major producers are based. As the cold, wet weather in mid-July suggested, this is not vine-growing country; instead, producers buy grapes from eastern Washington and make the wine closer to the crowds of drinkers of Seattle.

where?

The contrast between Seattle and eastern Washington could not be greater. Seattle is a green, hilly city surrounded by mountains and water, with active volcanoes just 90 miles away. Average rainfall is 45-50 inches a year, meaning that serious viticulture is all but impossible. East of Seattle are the Cascade mountains, a bleak, rocky range which break up the rain from the Pacific and create a very different environment beyond the mountains. Eastern Washington is arid, hot, and almost desert like, with rainfall as little as 4-8 inches a year.

Washington's wine industry has expanded hugely over the last twenty years; from 12 wineries in 1980 to 60 ten years later to over 700 today. It's now the second largest wine-producing state in the US, although California produces over 90% of the country's wine. There are eleven, and arguably too many, AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) for such a young wine region: the entire wine area is Colombia Valley AVA, within which the most important AVAs are Yakima Valley and Walla Walla Valley.

grapes

Washington produces wine from a huge variety of grapes, which is both to its advantage and disadvantage. Unlike Oregon and its Pinot Noir, Washington lacks a signature grape which consumers can identify the state with; at the same time, this allows winemakers a freer range of possibilities.

During the 1990s, Washington was most strongly associated with Merlot. In June 1991, the Washington Wine Commission met to discuss how best to promote the state's growing wine industry. They briefly discussed Cabernet Sauvignon before realising the futility of competing with Napa Valley, settling on Merlot, a grape little planted and largely unknown in the States at that time. Coincidentally, in November 1991 60 Minutes broadcast a documentary, "The French Paradox," which claimed that drinking red wine had health benefits. This led to the fashion for Merlot, which Washington was well positioned to take advantage of.

Despite its notorious fall from grace, Merlot is still the third most sold varietal wine in the US and Washington would arguably do well to reclaim its status as the best state by far for the grape, giving the state a stronger identity than it currently has. Washington Merlot at its best has ripe, rich red and black fruits, with a high acidity, and a coffee toastiness from the use of new oak.

The other black grapes that thrive in Washington are Cabernet Sauvignon and, increasingly, Syrah; there is great potential for Sangiovese and Tempranillo, though the American market remains addicted to French varieties. The most planted grape in the state, perhaps surprisingly for such a warm climate, is Riesling: astonishingly, Chateau Ste. Michelle is the largest producer of Riesling in the world (and that doesn't include the other brands it owns). Washington Riesling is made in a whole variety of styles of sweetness, but is recognisable for its stone and tropical fruits. Chardonnays are beginning to become less oaky and more balanced, while Washington's best whites are perhaps from less fashionable Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon blends.

Tempranillo in véraison

wineries

Betz Family Winery

Bob Betz worked for Chateau Ste. Michelle from 1974, until establishing his own winery in the late 1990s. In the meantime, he became one of the most important exponents of Washington wine, both in promoting the wine outside the state and in defining the most suitable areas for planting. He's now the only Master of Wine in the US actually making wine. At 5,000 cases a year, production is small and focused on high-end Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

My visit focused on two vintages from two single-vineyard Syrahs, La Serenne from Boushey vineyard in Yakima and La Côte Rousse from Ciel du Cheval in Red Mountain. La Serenne 2010 was subtle and elegant, with juicy blackberries, light pepper, and a slightly dusty finish: just beginning to open up now, but with lots of ageing potential still. The 2012, which will be released in September, was too young but still indicative of the warmer vintage - earthier, thornier, with darker fruits. La Côte Rousse is a richer, warmer wine, from a hotter, sandier vineyard (though just 20 miles away). The 2010 was far more pungent than La Serenne, its smokiness almost peaty, with tobacco leaves, ripe blackcurrants, and sweet spices. Again, the 2012 is a little too young, but showing an additional, engaging floral character.

Delille Cellars

Just a four minute drive away are Delille Cellars, established in 1992. Many of their grapes are sourced from Red Mountain AVA, particularly from Ciel du Cheval and Grand Ciel vineyards, the latter established by the winery in 2001. Highlights included the Ciel du Cheval 2013 Roussanne, a complex yet immediate and refreshing wine - nutty and yeasty, with stone and tropical fruits. This is part of the "Doyenne" series, focusing on Rhône style wines, but it's Bordeaux blends the winery specialises in. The D2, named for the road which goes through the Médoc in Bordeaux, is their best-selling wine and is a good example of a Merlot-based wine from Washington, with black fruits, cedar, and a nice spicy finish. The flagship wine is the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated Harrison Hill from Snipes Mountain AVA. Complex, maturing flavours of tar and leather, smoke, black tea, and figs, as well as cassis and brambles, though with a subdued finish. A very good wine, but at a hefty $85. My favourite wine, though, was a white, the Chaleur Estate 2013 - a blend of 65% Sauvignon Blanc and 35% Sémillon. Cellared in the last three White House administrations, this is a complex wine that shows all the best of Bordeaux blends - oaky and creamy, smoky and toasty, with lemon, spices, and brioche, and a barnyard feel.

Brian Carter Cellars

Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to meet winemaker Brian Carter, described to me as "the librarian of Washington wine," and didn't get the full story to his winemaking philosophy. All of his wines are blends, often quite unusual, taking advantage of the number of varieties grown in Washington, as well as growers' and winemakers' increased understanding of how to get the best out of the different varieties.

I did get to taste six of his wines. Oriana is a unique blend of Viognier (53%), Roussanne (32%), and Riesling (15%), which was aromatic, nutty, with a spicy finish. Together with the peach and nectarine aromas, this was a wine expressing, yet integrating, all three of the varieties. Tuttorosso 2009 is a super Tuscan blend, which seems to be how Sangiovese is most used in Washington. I was looking forward to this, but found it a little simple with smoky red cherries and light spices. The most interesting was the Corrida, a blend, which I can only assume is unique, of Tempranillo (62%), Graciano (12%), Merlot (11%), Cabernet Sauvignon (9%), and Garnacha (6%). Evocative of grilled sausages, with a peppery finish and dry tannins, this is a wine definitely doing its own thing, and no Rioja clone.

These are just three of Washington's 700+ wineries, but which give a good indication of the range and style of the state's wines. I hope to be back before long to taste more, but for now I'm off to California to explore the Golden State.

Sémillon

In the last few weeks, I've found a new appreciation for Sémillon, the white grape most known for the role it plays in the dry and sweet wines of Bordeaux. Due to that role, it's considered an important grape but it's not seen that often or a grape that trips off customers' tongues. This must in part be because white Bordeaux, where it's blended with Sauvignon Blanc, isn't that popular a style, but also because it just isn't planted in that many places: in Europe, it's virtually limited to south-west France and in the New World only Australia has made a speciality of it. It's these Australian versions which have led me back to taste white Bordeaux - from New World back to Old.

where it's grown

Its name comes from a local pronunciation of St-Emilion, the Bordeaux village renowned for its Merlot-based reds. It's the fifth most-planted white grape in France, concentrated on south-west France in Bordeaux, Bergerac, and Monbazillac. In Bordeaux, it's the dominant variety in the sweet white wines of Sauternes and Barsac and also in the oaky dry whites of Graves; it's almost always blended with Sauvignon Blanc, which is becoming more prominent in blends. When it's planted in California, it's to produce similar dry white wines. In Australia, it's the second most-planted white variety, producing distinctive dry wines, particularly in Hunter Valley near Sydney. The wines receive no oak, are low in alcohol and high in acidity, and, despite that lack of oak, develop toasty complexity as they age. Margaret River in Western Australia is another important area, where it's again blended with Sauvignon Blanc. Plantings of the grape have declined in South Africa, but the reputation of its wines is increasing; again, the influence is Bordeaux, with the use of oak and blending with Sauvignon.

Sémillon grapes beginning to rot; taken from Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand's Grapes and Wine

what it tastes like

With its grassy, herbaceous aromas, Sémillon is not a dissimilar grape to Sauvignon Blanc (and the two are closely related), hence the tendency to blend the two together. It does have different characteristics, though; the acidity isn't as refreshingly high as Sauvignon, and the wine is fatter and fuller bodied, as well as waxy and oily. The grape's thin skins also make it suspectible to noble rot, and its fatty characteristics add to the body of a rich, sweet wine. From the oaky dry wines of Graves, the unoaked, ageworthy wines of Hunter Valley, on its own or blended with Sauvignon Blanc, back to the intensely sweet wines of Sauternes, this is one versatile grape. Come on winemakers, get planting!

tasting

Tyrell's Belford 2009 (Hunter Valley, 100% Sémillon, Wine Society, £21). A single-vineyard Sémillon from one of Hunter Valley's most famous producers, this is an exceptional wine that still has lots of development ahead of it. Classic Hunter Valley in its high acidity and low alcohol (11%), as well as developing complexity; there are still lemon and lime notes from the wine's youthfulness, but a waxy oiliness coming through, and interesting vegetal notes - I got creamy potato on the palate.

Brokenwood Semillon 2012 and 2007 ILR Reserve (Hunter Valley, 100% Sémillon, 2012 currently available at hangingditch, £20). Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste these wines at the same time, as it would have been fascinating to directly compare the two. The 2012 had sharply fresh, grassy, herbaceous aromas, while the 2007, from a single vineyard, had developed mature flavours variously described by fellow Diploma students as wet wool, shortbread, orange peel, lemon cake, and blossom. This was a serious, intense wine, quite different from the youthful exuberance of the 2012, and one that will continue to age for another 15 years. Both these wines have low alcohol - the 2007 11.5%, the 2012 10.5%.

Cullen Mangan Vineyard 2011 (Margaret River, 58% Sauvignon Blanc, 42% Sémillon, hangingditch, £22.50). Cullen is a fully biodynamic winery from Margaret River, an area of Western Australia famous for its similarities to Bordeaux and where Sémillon works best in the northern part. I've tasted the 2011 vintage (the blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon is different each year) on two separate occassions in the last couple of months. The first was at the end of a Sauvignon Blanc centred tasting at hangingditch, where the style of this oaked blend was just too difficult for the Sauvignon lovers - I loved that oaky complexity in contrast to the too similar primary aromas of Sauvignon after Sauvignon. The second tasting was during the Diploma Australian session, where both tutor and students thought it wasn't complex enough for the price. The collective tasting notes, and the conclusion that it has another ten years, suggest otherwise: chamomile, thyme, grass, white chocolate, asparagus, ripe green and citrus fruits, as well as being waxy and oily, with weight on the palate from the light use of oak. Both a guest at the tasting and a student on the Diploma also suggested smoked cheese, a description the tutor found highly amusing, but it's one I fully agree with, especially after having tasted other Sémillon wines.

Cuvée des Conti: Tour des Gendres 2012 (Bergerac, 70% Sémillon, Carrington's, £12.49). Young, grassy, and green on the nose, showing just how similar Sémillon is to Sauvignon - it would be difficult to distinguish the two in a blind tasting. The palate differs though: a dry yet creamy finish, with a spicy, yeasty texture from eight months on its lees, and a much fuller body. The acidity isn't as piercingly high as Sauvignon either; this isn't a palate cleanser for a sunny afternoon, more of a food wine for a rich, creamy chicken or oily seafood dish.

Moulin des Dames 2006 (Bergerac, 70% Sauvignon Blanc/30% Sémillon, Carrington's, £25). This is a complex, mature, and quite beautiful wine with aged, oxidised notes, almost like a traditional white Rioja, with honey and beeswax. 50% aged for twelve months in barriques and on its lees, the palate is creamy, oaky, and spicy. It came as a surprise to learn that the wine is 70% Sauvignon Blanc, as the Sémillon seems much more influential - evidence that Sauvignon Blanc is a grape that can still surprise.

Château Rahoul Blanc 2010 (Graves, 75% Sémillon, Wine Society, £16). A very nutty (marzipan), toasty, and cheesy nose, with dairy and farmyard notes; the palate shares blue cheese and marzipan flavours, but with a big oaky, spicy finish. A full-bodied white which would be a great pairing with crumbly Lancashire cheese, as well as a bready fish dish.

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2010 (Franschhoek, 92% Sémillon, Wine Society, £18). From vines planted in 1902, 1906, and 1942, this is a serious wine comparable in complexity and quality to the above Bordeaux. A waxy, oily, cheesy, smoky, toasty nose, with a slight yet pleasant stink of rotting fruits. There's an intense mouth feel - very cheesy, smoky, slightly rotten, nice acidity, fatty, and full-bodied with creamy spices and potatoes. Great on its own, but this would match with any rich, creamy dish.

Clos du Val Signature Series 2011 (Napa Valley, 72% Sémillon; 2010 available at hangingditch, £25). I wrote about this in my California blog - another great example of a New World wine taking Bordeaux as its inspiration but doing something quite different. Far less farmyardy and oaky than the Graves equivalent (it was aged in neutral oak), with fresher, grassier aromas, but depth and complexity of flavour from the ageing.

Château Doisy-Daëne 2006 (Barsac, 95% Sémillon, Wine Society, £26). Barsac is an appellation next to Sauternes in Bordeaux, producing sweet wines from the same grapes - it can be much more affordable than its more famous neighbour. The wine has a rich golden colour, and intensely sweet aromas of orange peel, marmalade, and dried apricots. The palate is honeyed with light oaky spices. Some sweet wines work on their own, drunk at any time, but this is definitely best as a dessert wine: with apple tart for example.

Every single one of these wines that I've tasted at different times over the last month or so was of a high quality: intriguing and complex aromas, all connected by the grape, yet distinguished by the style and character of its region or the nature of the winemaking process. I'm definitely a convert to the Bordeaux-style oaky, dry whites: these are complex, full-bodied food wines that should be much more appreciated. In complete contrast, the Australian Semillons are just unique: high acidity, low alcohol, no oak, lots of ageing potential, and developing complexity that's all about the flavour profile of the grape. Together with sweet Bordeaux, these are three completely different, yet equally appealing, styles of wine. 

Diploma Week Three - Australia

A month after enduring the spirits and sparkling wine exams, we reconvened for three days of tasting New World wine and, thankfully, no exams. I'm a little suspicious of the term "New World"; after all, some of the oldest vines in the world are in Australia and California. However, as the first day tasting Australian wine demonstrated, the development of serious, quality wine, as well as popular, affordable wine, in non-European countries is a relatively recent phenomenon. Our tutor for the day, Michael Buriak, recalled working in the wine trade in the 1980s and stocking his shop's first ever bottle of Australian wine, seen as a novelty item. It sold out instantly, and Australian wine has never looked back - it's now consistently the number one selling wine by country in the UK. (Only the US drinks more Australian wine than the UK, and that's because of the ubiquitous Yellow Tail brand.)

The popularity of Australian wine makes it an interesting category. It's best known for producing inexpensive, high-volume, drinkable wines which unfortunately means that consumers are likely to stick to the inexpensive wines and ignore the high-quality, premium alternatives. This is a perception Australian wine is trying to shift, but when big brands like Jacob's Creek and Hardy's dominate the market it's hard.

Despite having 120-year-old vines, Australian winemakers are still learning their trade, moving on from big, oaky Chardonnay and fruit-bomb Shiraz to produce wines of elegance and subtlety. As I've learnt from working at hangingditch over the last eighteen months, and as this day's tasting further proved, premium Australian wine can be sensational and is getting better and better.

what we tasted

This was a stellar line-up, showcasing Australian wine at its best and most varied. Much of the wine was not the inexpensive stuff that makes Australian wine so popular, but it meant that we gained a real understanding of Australian terroir.

Australia is divided into areas of geographical indication. Although some of these areas are particularly associated with a grape variety or style of wine (e.g. Coonawarra and Cabernet Sauvignon), there are no real rules to them beyond geography. They can be very small or enormous, and there's probably no larger wine region in the world than South Eastern Australia, not that different in size from the EU. If you see the term South Eastern Australia on the label, then it's likely to be an inexpensive wine produced in the bulk regions of Riverland, Murray Valley, and Riverina.

Our first wine was an example of what makes Australian wine so popular. Hardy's Nottage Hill Chardonnay 2013 (c.£8) is a high-volume wine from South Eastern Australia, which basically means absolutely anywhere. It's been given oak qualities through the use of oak chips to give it a semblance of complexity. It's a decent wine that will make a sunny weekend perfectly pleasant. We saved this wine to taste alongside other Chardonnays later in the day, which did not do it any favours.

After that, our tasting was all about quality and varietal/regional typicity. Shaw + Smith are an excellent winery based in Adelaide Hills. Australia is a huge country dominated by arid, inhospitable desert. As with the population centres, quality wine is focused on the cooler coastal regions, which are cooled further by altitude. Thus, there's a concentration of quality wine regions around the city of Adelaide, such as Barossa Valley, Eden Valley, Clare Valley, and Adelaide Hills. We tasted two of Shaw + Smith's wines, both of which were very good. The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (c£16) was as good a Sauvignon Blanc as I've tasted in a while, while the 2012 Chardonnay (c£25), perhaps still a little too young, had an engaging delicate oakiness - a real indication of how Australian winemakers have discovered the attraction of restraint.

Interest in Riesling, the great and underappreciated German grape, has been revitalised by dry examples from Australia, particularly Eden and Clare Valley. Grosset Wines are a producer active since the early 1980s; winemaker Jeffrey Grosset considers 2013 to be the best Clare Valley vintage he's ever experienced, and the wine we tasted was from Polish Hill, one of the best sub-regions of Clare Valley (c£30). Therefore, the wine had a lot going for it, but its searingly high acidity meant that this wine possibly needs a few years before it drinks nearer its best. A more approachable Riesling came from a famous producer in Western Australia, Leeuwin, whose leading range of wines, "Art Series," features a work of art on the label each year from a local artist. The 2011 Riesling (c£20) was a complex, ageworthy wine, but still full of immediate citrus and sweet spice flavours.

In the same Art Series was the most expensive wine of the day, the 2010 Chardonnay (c£60), an outstanding wine that had everything you'd expect from a oaked Chardonnay: big, rich, toasty, with tropical fruits. Worth £60? If you've got the money, then yes. (The more affordable Leeuwin "Prelude" Chardonnay from the Wine Society gives an indication of what the premium version tastes like.)

Other than Riesling, the white grape that works best in Australia is Semillon. As Michael pointed out, this is one of the world's great grape varieties but is vastly underappreciated. It's there in Bordeaux in white blends and classic sweet wines like Sauternes, but other than it gets largely overlooked. We tasted a couple of Semillon wines, which showed how well it works in Australia. The first was my favourite wine of the day, a 2007 from Brokenwood in Hunter Valley (c£25). Hunter Valley is a region to the north of Sydney, its inhospitable climate as northern as quality wine gets in the country, but which is known for producing great Semillon. This was a fantastic wine: so complex and developed, yet its fruit fresh and young, a wine capable of lots of further ageing. The other Semillon was part of a blend with Sauvignon Blanc, as is common in Bordeaux whites. Produced biodynamically by Cullen in Margaret River, Western Australia, this was an unusual wine with 25% new oak to give it some depth and smoky flavours, as well as fragrant chamomile, thyme, and white chocolate aromas (c£20).

The grape that Australia is most famous for is, of course, Shiraz. The Eileen Hardy 2004 was a particularly interesting wine, as it demonstrated the difficulty Australia has in selling itself as a maker of premium, as well as inexpensive, wines. Produced by Hardy's, one of the country's leading brands, it retails at £40. For its quality, that's still quite a low price, but it struggles to sell. Why? Because who would pay that money for a wine by a brand? The wine was an outstanding example of a complex Australian Shiraz; identifiably McLaren Vale (to the south of Adelaide), with riper fruits than a French equivalent, it was a beautifully perfumed, elegant, mature Shiraz. Even maturer was the 1999 Jim Barry McRae Wood Museum Release. At £35-40 and fifteen years old, this represents incredibly good value. The wine is from Clare Valley; although known for Riesling, the area produces elegant, smooth Shiraz and this is a stunning example, with black fruits, leather and meat, coffee and floral flavours.

As all the great white wines we tasted showed, Australia isn't just about Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its association with Coonawarra (c£16), but it's in Margaret River, Western Australia, that the grape arguably reaches the heights of Bordeaux. The Vasse Felix Heytesbury (c£40), from the area's oldest producer (established 1967), was outstanding and a fitting climax to the day. As with many of the other wines, it demonstrated that the French concept of terroir is very much present in a New World country such as Australia, representing the qualities of the grape and the wine's specific area - and showing also that expensive Australian wine is very much worth it. 

The day's tasting was exhaustive (and exhausting) - and we had two days of other New World wine to follow. None quite matched the extensive, exceptional line-up of Australian wines, but I'm now on my way to California to explore fully the great wines of that region. Expect lots of blogs about sunshine and wine. I'll try not to gloat too much.