Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A citrusy semillon with just a hint of gooseberry, then a really attractive interplay of waxy, creamy character with lively acidity, the finish long and dry. A flexible food-wine, although it has more than 15 per cent alcohol.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Ricardo Santos Semillon delivers excellence on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine is pure and unencumbered. Enjoy its formidable aromas and flavors of dried earth, savory spices, and ripe fruits with stir-fried clams in a sauce of minced ginger and scallion. (Tasted: December 12, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.”
By far the largest and best-known winemaking province in Argentina, Mendoza is responsible for over 70% of the country’s enological output. Set in the eastern foothills of the Andes Mountains, the climate is dry and continental, presenting relatively few challenges for viticulturists during the growing season. Mendoza, divided into several distinctive sub-regions, including Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley, is the source of some of the country’s finest wines.
For many wine lovers, Mendoza is practically synonymous with Malbec. Originally a Bordelaise variety brought to Argentina by the French in the mid-1800s, here it found success and renown that it never knew in its homeland where a finicky climate gives mixed results. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir are all widely planted here as well (and sometimes even blended with each other or Malbec). Mendoza's main white varieties include Chardonnay, Torrontés, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.