Australian Semillon and More at Dish N’ Dazzle

Wines You Can Try at Dish N’ Dazzle

There will be a wide range of wines, both red and white to try at Dish N’ Dazzle.  I received a sample of white wines from Wine Australia so that I could whet your appetite.  With the summer patio season upcoming, why not find out about some white Australian wines you may want to enjoy?

Semillon is a white grape you may not have heard of before, but it is a classic in the Hunter Valley region of Australia.  The grape comes from the Bordeaux region in France, where it is blended with Sauvignon Blanc to make White Bordeaux blends.  Semillon has lower acidity than Sauvignon Blanc and has a waxy texture to it.  Flavours and aromas can range from apples, citrus (lemon or lime), flowers, and lanolin.  A key characteristic of this grape is its ability to age for many years, where it takes on a woody character, even if the wine was 100% stainless steel fermented and aged before bottling. Below are 3 Australian Semillons; 2 are from the classic Hunter Valley, and the other is from the Barossa Valley, and covers an age range of 2014, 2008, and 2005, to give you an idea what you could expect from a bottle of Semillon as it ages.  For Dish N’ Dazzle you would taste 2014 or 2015 Semillons, but I have shown you the older vintages as well to see how these wines age.

As these wines age, they get deeper in colour.  Can you see these 3 wines changing from pale straw, to light straw, to medium plus straw colour in the picture below?

Semillon is a wine that I would recommend to drink along with food.  It is not as fruit forward as an aromatic white, but it makes up for it with its texture.

Tyrrell’s Wines Hunter Valley Lost Block Semillon 2014 – Medium intensity nose with aromas of lemon, petrol, oak and a hint of flowers.  With decanting the petrol aroma dissipates, while you get apples and a hint of herbal.  It is dry and soft with medium plus acidity. A very light mouth feel.  You get green citrus followed by stone fruit and apples on the palate.  You also feel a waxy roundness to the wine.  A hint of “oak” in the background, along with some salty minerality.  With decanting the “oak” aroma faded. Mouth watering acidity with some green flavours on the finish.  Quite tart.  With decanting you get more citrus and some pepperiness on the finish.  Rating:

Peter Lehmann Margaret Semillon Barossa 2008 –  This wine is different from the other two wines because the grapes are sourced from the Barossa Valley, which is near the middle south coast of Australia, as compared to the Hunter Valley which is north of Sydney on the east coast.

The average temperature of the Barossa is higher than that of the Hunter Valley and this temperature difference does show up in the wine I think as you get a much more toasted oak/petrol aroma and flavour compared to the other 2 wines, and was also the most aromatic.

This wine as mentioned shows toasted oak or petrol, together with lemon and lanolin on the nose.  It definitely smells like it is developing to maybe aged.  It is dry with a heavier mouthfeel.  Medium plus body, quite round and mouth filling.  You get the characteristic waxiness of this grape on the palate.  It has citrus with hints of white flowers and minerality on the palate.  There is a strong toasted note along with honey for this wine; stronger than the citrus fruit.  The wine finishes almost with a nuttiness on the palate; It is still tart and lemony .  A very top quality wine.  Big, full-bodied and round.  Rating:

McGuigan Hunter Valley Semillon Bin 9000 2005 – Really quite a deep golden colour in the glass.  Medium plus intensity nose with aromas of toast, petrol, lanolin, dried lemon and a whiff of white flowers.  With decanting you also get the aroma of honey.  It is dry, medium body, but what really stands out is its smoothness.  You do not feel the acidity in the wine, although it is there. Soft fruit flavours.  Dried apricots, citrus rind and a hint of tropical fruit.  I also picked up salty minerality in this wine.  A characteristic of the Hunter Valley?  Again there is the waxy mouth feel.  With decanting you get some petrol on the palate.  This is an elegant wine that finishes with apples, oak, and some pepperiness on the finish.  The pepperiness dissipates with decanting. Rating:

There is of course more to Australian white wines than Semillon. I will follow up this article with 3 other white wines you may sample at Dish N’ Dazzle: a Roussanne, a Chardonnay, and a Vermentino!

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