Kalin Semillon 2001
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Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
The potential of Semillon to produce superior dry white wine has not been realized in California due to overproduction caused by heavy soil types found in many grape growing regions. The low yields due to deep gravel soil, ninety year old vines and a perfect climate for this variety, ensures that Wente Vineyards produces wines of depth, complexity and style. Our experience with Semillon suggests that this wine, like the best white Graves, will be capable of attaining great age and distinction. We believe that Semillon can produce wines which are fully comparable to the highest levels of quality realized in dry white wines regardless of the grape variety involved. Semillon is the perfect accompaniment to salmon and highly seasoned cuisines such as Southwest, Chinese, Thai, Nuevo Latino, etc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Soon to be released, the 2001 Sémillon was produced from vines planted in the 1880s in the Livermore Valley. As it approaches its 17th birthday, the wine is still remarkably youthful, opening in the glass with aromas of lemon oil, beeswax and honeysuckle, subtly framed by new oak. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, textural and bright, with impressive concentration and a vivid, chalky finish. This is quite a bit more reserved than the 2001 Sauvignon Blanc that Kalin Cellars released from the same Livermore Valley site a few years ago.
Red wines are fermented for several weeks in wooden "cuves" and aged in new French oak barrels. These wines are neither fined nor filtered - they are naturally clarified and stabilized by settling and aging in small cooperage.
White wines are fermented and aged in new French oak barrels. These wines receive the minimum of fining to achieve brilliance and stability, and are bottled without filtration.
Vineyard sources are selected based on the superiority of the soil type and their being situated in the coolest possible microclimate suitable for the variety being grown. Due to the high natural acids present in cool climate fruit, all red and white wines are able to undergo complete malolactic fermentation. Kalin produces exclusively 100% single vineyard wines.
These optimal vineyard and winemaking elements combine to produce wines of exceptional complexity and balance - classic New World wines evolved from centuries of European artisanal tradition and experience.
Sémillon has the power to create wines with considerable structure, depth and length that will improve for several decades. It is the perfect partner to the vivdly aromatic Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon especially shines in the Bordeaux region of Sauternes, which produces some of the world’s greatest sweet wines. Somm Secret—Sémillon was so common in South Africa in the 1820s, covering 93% of the country’s vineyard area, it was simply referred to as Wyndruif, or “wine grape.”
A warm sub-appellation of the greater San Francisco Bay AVA (American Viticultural Area), Livermore Valley mainly hides behind the shielding effects of the bay’s eastern hills. However, late afternoon winds cool down summer nights as daytime heat rises from the Central Valley in the east, pulling the cold, foggy, bay air inland. This cooler evening air permeates the Livermore Valley's foothills, making this an ideal environment for the development of phenolic ripeness and concentration in its wine grapes.
The Livermore Valley is one of California's oldest wine regions and has played a crucial role in shaping California's wine industry. Spanish missionaries planted the first wine grapes in the Livermore Valley in the 1760s. Then in the mid 1800s, a man named Robert Livermore planted the area’s first commercial vineyards. Winemaker pioneer C. H. Wente arrived a few years later; today the Wente Chardonnay clone is the source of a majority of California Chardonnay. Furthermore, James Concannon and the Wetmore brothers recognized the virtues of the area’s Bordeaux-like gravel soils and dedicated themselves to making high quality wine from Bordeaux varieties. Today the area is also known for high quality Petite Sirah.