My one and only favorite white wine used to be the Chardonnay, but when I started experimenting with the wines of Hunter Valley, NSW, I've got a new favorite! The Semillon....
The Semillon has been considered to be of mediocre quality, tasted rather bland / neutral and are not very well-rounded; it has relatively low acidity and less aromatic. Thus, it often disappears into a blend with Sauvignon Blanc which, as people have said, produces extraordinary wines. (*I would definitely try it some time.*)
The Aussies, however, craft delicious Semillon, full of toast, marmalade, honey, and lime flavours, making it able to be a great single varietal wine to be enjoyed by everyone. The Hunter Valley is well-known to produce this world-class Semillon wines.
For those of you who prefer sweeter wines, you should try the Botrytis Semillon, produced by quite a lot of wineries at Hunter Valley. One of my favorites: Keith Tulloch's Botrytis Semillon.
Food Pairing:
- Younger, grassier Semillons and Semillon/Sauvignon blends are tasty with leafy salads, grilled white fish, or on their own.
- A mature Australian Semillon should go well with fresh salmon or full-flavoured seafood like crab.
