Sémillon

Written by Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein 

Sémillon (WSET pronunciation here)  shows two faces to the world. The principal variety in the wine most connoisseurs consider the finest expression of great dessert wine, Château d'Yquem of Sauternes, is the same one that makes racy, dry table wines ordered by the glass in hundreds of fashionable restaurants from Sydney to Seattle. 

Many people erroneously think it's Sauvignon Blanc that drives the great sweet wines of Sauternes and its satellite appellations. In fact, it's Sémillon that provides the highest percentage of fruit in the blend, the rich color and velvety texture, and is most strongly affected by the Botrytis that defines the wine. Sémillon is also blended with Sauvignon Blanc to make Australia's wildly popular “SSBs” (Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc) and is often vinified, blended with, and aged similarly to Chardonnay in Australia and Washington state, with much the same results, under the hybrid name SemChard. After Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon is the third most planted white wine grape in France and is made alternatively in dry and sweet styles throughout Bordeaux and the southwest. Underripe Sémillon smells so much like Sauvignon Blanc that one might be tempted to think the two are closely related, even if DNA analysis has yet to establish this as fact.

In California, we are at a crossroads. An August 2013 article entitled “Sémillon Enjoying California Resurgence” was optimistic, intimating that we could look forward to seeing more of this delicious grape. Alas, years later, we are still running in place. I venture to hope that this is simply a case of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” because rebooting this variety in the Golden State makes a lot of sense!