Sémillon

Many people won’t have heard of Sémillon, but this rather humble variety, which is often hidden in blends, is responsible for some of the most celebrated wines. Sémillon is even regarded as grape royalty when it comes to sweet wines (or dessert wines) in particular! Bordeaux appellations, Sauternes and Cérons, are the finest examples, producing unctuous sweet wines that are regarded as the best in the world (and certainly the most expensive!). Next door in the appellation of Graves (also Bordeuax), Sémillon interestingly produces wonderful dry white wines that are also very highly acclaimed.

In recent decades, it has made its way to the southern hemisphere and today particularly thrives in Australia, as well as parts of South Africa. Here, it is often combined with Chardonnay to make fantastically fruity and easy drinking white wine styles. Maybe this is one to impress friends and family with for something a little different…

Sémillon Tasting Notes

Lemon

Apricot

Honey

Biscuit

Vanilla

For dry wines, flavours of Sémillon can really vary from lemon and lime to something more herbal. But for dessert wines, a real intensity of stone fruit (mostly apricot) comes through, along with a smooth, honeyed quality. Noble rot affected Sémillon can lead to sweet wines with notes of dried apricot, pineapple, honey, ryebread and sweet biscuits. This grape has wonderful ageing potential for both dry and sweet white wines, with many winemakers choosing to age it in new oak, which imparts flavours of toast, coffee and sweet spices such as vanilla.

Sémillon Style

Clean and Crisp White Wine

Dry Sweet

Sémillon is adored by many for its lusciously bright flavours, full body and high alcohol content. Used in two main styles of wine, it is commonly blended with Sauvignon Blanc for dry white wines, whilst with sweeter wines it’s usually on its own. Dry white styles tend to be medium-bodied and sharply acidic, with some of the best examples coming from Hunter Valley, Australia. In terms of sweet wines, the best example is probably Bordeaux’s famous dessert wine, Sauternes. Sémillon’s thin skins make it particularly susceptible to noble rot in cooler climates, which is a highly-skilled technique deployed to make delicious sweet wines with a silky smooth mouthfeel.

Wine Regions

Although this golden-skinned grape has become synonymous with Bordeaux, the emerging front-runner for fantastic Sémillon in recent years is Australia. Producers in the New South Wales region Hunter Valley are making some fantastic examples of Sémillon that are fresh and clean in style, similar to Sauvignon Blanc. South Africa is also one to watch for this grape variety in terms of dry wines, producing some deliciously full-bodied and herbal flavoured Sémillon that ages very well.

What Food Goes with Sémillon?

Sémillon matches well with pork chops, oysters, oily fish, turkey escalopes, roasted peppers and courgettes. For sweet wines such as Sauternes, try pairing with foie gras, Roquefort, Crêpes Suzette or marmalade bread and butter pudding.

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