Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with a wide variety of seafood dishes.
Blend: 70% Sauvignon, 30% Semillon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a very complex and zesty style with such piercing, lemon and green-mango aromas and flavors, delivered in a rich, powerfully concentrated frame. So much fruit here. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One suspects it must be difficult to sell the 2017 Sauvignon Semillon into a market that prizes youth in these sorts of wines. But this is no ordinary blend. It's 70% Sauvignon Blanc, mostly made in stainless steel, and 30% Sémillon, barrel fermented and aged in French oak. At nearly three years of age, this is pungent and grassy, loaded with lively citrus (grapefruit) and passion fruit aromas, and possessing a medium-bodied palate and linear feel. Perhaps it's a bit less rich and textured than some vintages, but it's amply concentrated and lingers a long time on the vibrant finish.
Sometimes light and crisp, other times rich and creamy, Bordeaux White Blends typically consist of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Often, a small amount of Muscadelle or Sauvignon Gris is included for added intrigue. Popularized in Bordeaux, the blend is often mimicked throughout the New World. Somm Secret—Sauternes and Barsac are usually reserved for dessert, but they can be served before, during or after a meal. Try these sweet wines as an aperitif with jamón ibérico, oysters with a spicy mignonette or during dinner alongside hearty Alsatian sausage.
A relatively young but extremely promising wine producing country, New Zealand is widely recognized for its distinctive white wines made from the aromatic, Sauvignon blanc.
The world’s most southerly vineyards are found here, with significant climatic variation both between and within the warmer North Island and the cooler South Island. Overall, the climate is maritime, with plenty of rainfall, as well as abundant sunshine. Producers have almost unilaterally embraced cutting-edge winery technology, resulting in clean, high-quality New Zealand wines at every price point from wallet-friendly to premium.
Sauvignon blanc, known here for its trademark herbaceous character, is at its best in Marlborough but thrives throughout the nation, accounting for an overwhelming majority of the country’s exports. While this is indeed the country’s most planted and successful variety, it is certainly not the only New Zealand grape capable of delighting wine lovers.
Chardonnay is the second-most important white variety and takes on a supple texture with citrus and tropical fruit aromas in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, respectively. Pinot noir, second behind Sauvignon blanc in national production numbers, is at its best in Central Otago—the most southerly winegrowing region in the world! These New Zealand wines are known for bright and juicy red fruit. Taking cues from the wines of Alsace, aromatic varieties like Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer shine in Martinborough, while red wine Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot have found success in Hawke’s Bay. Throughout New Zealand but especially in Marlborough, Pinot noir and Chardonnay are used to produce traditional method sparkling NZ wines.