Sémillon is one of the world’s greatest wine grapes and its best wines rank with the sublime. It is also an unsung superstar, the many great wines of which almost a secret of sorts that few wine lovers appear to have been made privy to, or are aware of.
Clearly, the variety has many qualities, not the least of which is its almost unique ability of giving both great dry and sweet wines (Sémillon takes extremely well to noble rot), a capacity for dual-winemaking that is something that only the truly noblest of white grapes can do at a world-class level (for example, Riesling can and Chardonnay cannot). Sémillon can also give very age-worthy wines, which is, once again, something that most white grapes cannot do. Furthermore, Sémillon’s wines are characterized by a very typical, specific texture that ranges from the creamy to the oily, a taste sensation that is not due to batonnage or oak but that is unique to the variety and quite unlike that offered by any other white grape. It is also a very adaptable grape, thriving in both sunny and warm climates and cool ones (though being thin-skinned, it is best to avoid overly sun-drenched hot areas where sunburn might be a problem).
