Winemaker Notes
Fashioned with the savory, food friendly dry whites of Southern France in mind, the Woodcutter’s Semillon is the ideal tonic after a long day in the vineyard. Medium bodied with a pristine lemon hue this youthful Semillon offers delicate scents of lime, melted butter, candle wax, and toasted brioche. The copper-pink skins of this robust, age-old ‘Madeira Clone’ flesh out the palate, lending notes of tropical pineapple, roasted cashew and white peach. Underlying notes of citrus oil and minerals maintain the wines freshness whilst a crisp spine of razor-like acidity neatly lace together the finish and provide length.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A soft and velvety white with pretty lemon rind and peach skin. Waxy. Creamy texture. Medium to full body. Dry and delicious. Drink now. Screw cap.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From vines planted in the 1890s, the 2018 Woodcutter's Semillon represents a true bargain for a chance to taste the product of centenarian vines. It's 30% barrel fermented but in old wood and with the malolactic blocked to retain the most freshness possible. Pear and lemon aromas appear on the nose, while the medium to full-bodied palate is plump and silky but also crisp and long, with lovely focus and some pleasant, pithy notes.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a fruity but varietal Semillon sourced from old vines around the Barossa. Pineapple, fresh ginger and that waxy, wet wool character that Semillon wears so well leads on the nose. The variety’s oily texture also makes itself know on the palate, as well as some oak influence, but both are lifted by focused, bright acidity and a gingery finish. Delicate with flesh on its bones.
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Wine Spectator
Savory, lanolin and beeswax notes add a succulent edge to the core of peach and pear flavors, set on a medium body, turning to smoke and spice details on the finish.
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.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.