Sémillon

From ArticleWorld

Sémillon is a type of grape with a golden skin that is commonly used in France and Austrailia to make sweet and dry white wines. In France this particular type of grape is usually grown in the Bordeaux region where it is mixed with Muscadelle and Sauvignon blanc. In Australia this grape is mostly grown in the Hunter Valley, north of Sidney, where it is usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

France

While mostly used in sweet wines, when the Sémillon is to be dry it is usually known as Bordeaux Blanc and is allowed to be produced in ‘’Entre deux mers’’ and the appellation regions of Pessac-Leognan as well as some other lesser known regions. In these cases the Sémillon is not a major contributor to the blend. When it is used for the sweeter white wines of Bordeaux it is usually the dominant ingredient of the mix. This commonly occurs in Barsac and Sautermes.

Australia

There are four types of Sémillon based wines produced in the Hunter Valley regioin of Australia they are: a commercial type, usually blended with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc; a sweet type, similar to that of Sauternes; which is a complex, early picked, minerally type which has a great deal of longevity; and, an equally high quality type which is produced with oak handling. The latter two types, originally produced by Tyrrell's and McWilliam's Mount Pleasant, are considered to be unique to the continent.

History

In the 1800’s this grape covered over 90 percent of the vines in South Africa vineyards, at that time it was called the Wyndruif or ‘’wine grape’’, in the post war vineyards of Chile the Sémillon accounted for over 75 percent of their plantings. Althought the quantities have been vaslty reduced, both countries still grow the Sémillon grape successfully.