This beautiful golden skinned grape is a beautiful white wine grape that creates sweet wines. The Semillon grape variety is said to be one of the most popular varieties of wine grapes in the world. Semillon blanketed almost all of Chilean vineyards during the 1900s. The type was also used to create white wines in France and Australia. Semillion creates white wines that are the longest lasting, and are responsible for some of the most popular sweet wines in the world today. Semillon is a variety famed from the region of Bordeaux and has also been grown in regions of Australia, in the oldest wineries in the region. In South Africa, the variety was also very popular, and covered roughly 90 percent of the vineyards in the South African Cape region in the 1900s. The popularity declined and today, the Semilion makes up around 1 percent of the vineyards. Because the variety can withstand difficult conditions such as rot and disease, Semillion has been a popular choice. These grapes tend to bear high yields, and are low in acid and contain a somewhat oily texture. Wines crafted from the variety tend to be sweet and dry. The ease of cultivation and the variety's nature to be harvested early in the year also lends to its popularity. When Semilion is grown in hot regions, the color of the grape can actually turn a nice light pink color because of its light skin. Australian wines with Semillon are sweet and contain honey-like aromas, and can include a apple or citrus flavor. Crisp flavors of lemon or lime can also be present.
Camus Graves Blanc is made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillon.
A beautiful, brilliant color, this wine offers a great aromatic balance with complex and mineral notes, Offering white fruit (peach and pear), citrus (grapefruit and lemon), and a toasty finish with a delicate oak presence. The mouthfeel is rich and complex with a great minerality, freshness, structure, and a good length to the finish.
Pairs with poultry, fish, and shellfish.
Gravas Sauternes is a blend of 100% Sémillon.
The wine shows a lovely pale golden color with deep golden highlights. Round and well-balanced offering complex aromas of candied fruits backed up by a hint of exotic fruit (mango, guava) and white flowers. On the palate, it is ample and fleshy, leading into a silky and long finish.
The wine pairs well with white meats, scallops, exotic and spicy dishes, foie Gras, Roquefort blue cheese, chocolate desserts.
Gravas Sauternes is a blend of 100% Sémillon.
The wine shows a lovely pale golden color with deep golden highlights. Round and well-balanced offering complex aromas of candied fruits backed up by a hint of exotic fruit (mango, guava) and white flowers. On the palate, it is ample and fleshy, leading into a silky and long finish.
The wine pairs well with white meats, scallops, exotic and spicy dishes, foie Gras, Roquefort blue cheese, chocolate desserts.
Hallet Sauternes is made from 100% Sémillon.
With delicate aromas of honey, citrus, crystallized fruit and acacia, it makes a good match not only for desserts, but also for foie gras, roasted meats and blue cheeses.
It makes a delicious aperitif when served chilled.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Hallet Sauternes is made from 100% Sémillon.
With delicate aromas of honey, citrus, crystallized fruit and acacia, it makes a good match not only for desserts, but also for foie gras, roasted meats and blue cheeses.
It makes a delicious aperitif when served chilled.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillion.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is a very fruity style of Bordeaux Blanc AOC. It has great aromatic intensity with white peach and citrus aromas.
No oak for this wine. The wine was aged on the lees for a few month in stainless steel tank.
Malolactic fermentation was completed as well in the process .
Excellent as an aperitif, it also goes very well with poultry and salads. If you have a chance to have access to fresh oyters, it is a great match as well.
The first vintage of this wine was made in 2018 as Nicolas Lassagne wanted to create an easy drinking wine that will be perfect as an aperitif in the summer time or to compliment salads and seafood in the winter time.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillion.
Le Blanc du Chateau des Landes Bordeaux Blanc is a very fruity style of Bordeaux Blanc AOC. It has great aromatic intensity with white peach and citrus aromas.
No oak for this wine. The wine was aged on the lees for a few month in stainless steel tank.
Malolactic fermentation was completed as well in the process .
Excellent as an aperitif, it also goes very well with poultry and salads. If you have a chance to have access to fresh oyters, it is a great match as well.
The first vintage of this wine was made in 2018 as Nicolas Lassagne wanted to create an easy drinking wine that will be perfect as an aperitif in the summer time or to compliment salads and seafood in the winter time.
Morlet Family Vineyards Billet Doux Late Harvest Semillon 2012 (half-bottle) is made from Sémillon (65%) Sauvignon Blanc (31%) Muscat à Petits Grains (4%)
rowing in the gravelly soil of an ancient riverbed in the beautiful Alexander Valley, the old vines benefit from hot afternoons and cool, foggy mornings, favorable for the development of Botrytis (Noble Rot). Extremely small yields in the Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat vineyards lead to the immensely concentrated fruit. Just as one receives a note from one’s sweetheart, we present this wine as a precious ‘Love Note’ or ‘Billet Doux.’
Deep crystal clear gold. Intense and complex bouquet of dry apricot, pêche de vigne and Reine Claude yellow plum intermixed with notes of quince, honey, Muscat and a hint of sweet vanilla. Full bodied, the palate is reminiscent of the nose, with a creamy sweet texture and a great intensity. The large amount of sugar and glycerin creates a highlighted viscosity. Along with the wine’s great concentration, richness and opulence, the classical aromatic complexity reveals a flamboyant yet harmonious ensemble, leading to a very long, complex and smooth finish.
Proprietary name ‘Billet Doux’
Name meaning Love Note
Type of wine Late harvest white wine
Appellation Alexander Valley
Vineyard singularity 25-60 year old vines Loamy and gravelly soils from an ancient river bed One cluster per shoot ‘de rigueur’
Typical harvest date November Picking Manual, small lugs, refrigerated truck
Sorting Cluster by cluster
Fermentation In barrel through native yeast
Upbringing 16 months French Oak from selected artisan Coopers
Bottling Unfined, filtered to prevent Malolactic
Cellaring time Decades
Serving Chilled and decanted
Review:
Produced from 65% Sémillon, 31% Sauvignon Blanc and 4% Muscat, the 2012 Billet Doux has a medium golden color and profoundly scented nose of beeswax, honeyed nuts, orange marmalade, Manuka honey and preserved lemons. Full-bodied, full-on sweet, rich, concentrated and oh-so-unctuous, it delivers powerful flavor layers and epic length. 175 cases were made.
-Wine Advocate 97 Points
Very clean and fresh. Notes of honeysuckle and peach blossom in the nose. White nectarine and charentais melon on the palate. Fresh, clean, and nice salinity on the finish.
Pairs with melon and proscutto, mild cheeses, fresh shellfish.
Roby Loupiac Semillon is made from 100% Sémillon.
This two-hectare estate is run by Colette Larriaut who inherited from her parents Jean and Denise Boutet. Colette focuses on traditional winegrowing and winemaking methods and keeps the passion and precision required to produce great sweet wines.
Château Roby Loupiac is built over time. More time is allowed to ferment and mature in order to produce a wine of character, a sweet wine marrying candied fruits, white fruits and white flowers with a remarkable freshness. The finish is long and very pleasant.
Loupiac is a very good alternative to Sauternes. It is less sweet and syrupy and has a nice balance and a delicious mouthfeel.
RS is around 60gr/L
Excellent with Foie Gras and Blue Cheese, but also with dessert and particularly with dark chocolate based cake.
Chateau Sainte Catherine Bordeaux Blanc is made from 67% Semillon and 33% Sauvignon (Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris).
A clear and brilliant color. The first nose reveals the minerality of our terroir (limestone subsoil). Fruity and delicate aromas come to sublimate this nose in a second time. On the palate, the wine is round and charming with sustained aromas throughout the tasting. (Small red fruits and white flowers).
Chateau Sainte Catherine Bordeaux Blanc is made from 67% Semillon and 33% Sauvignon (Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris).
A clear and brilliant color. The first nose reveals the minerality of our terroir (limestone subsoil). Fruity and delicate aromas come to sublimate this nose in a second time. On the palate, the wine is round and charming with sustained aromas throughout the tasting. (Small red fruits and white flowers).
Poggio San Polo Podernovi Brunello di Montalcino is made from 100 percent Sangiovese.
Podernovi, San Polo’s new single vineyard Brunello, makes its debut with the extraordinary 2015 vintage. Crafted with Sangiovese grapes grown in the vineyard synonymous with the wine, it is among the most beautiful and archetypal of Montalcino. Podernovi is an elegant and poignant Brunello.
The winter was not particularly cold, and spring arrived slightly earlier than usual, with temperatures slightly above average, giving the vines’ shoots the opportunity to uniformly develop. The following weeks saw frequent rainfall, which allowed the land to build water reserves, alternating with periods of dry weather, enabling the vines to continue growing without any problems. The damp conditions during flowering led to the formation of bunches that were slightly more sparse than usual and with rather small berries, ideal preconditions for reaching harvest time with perfectly ripe and healthy grapes. However, the feature that will make vintage 2016 particularly memorable is the excellent temperature range that characterized the months of July, August and September, with sunny days and cool, breezy nights. We therefore reached the beginning of October with grapes that exhibited a superb combination of maturity, acidity and aromatic potential, perfect conditions for the production of wines with a distinct personality and a great balance of concentration, elegance and longevity; a perfect reflection of the production philosophy of San Polo.
Review:
A mix of wild herb, Tuscan scrub, rose, cherry and earth flavors mark this sleek red, which tiptoes between elegance and power, with a layer of chalky tannins underlying it all. With air, the ripe cherry and plum fruit comes forward. Best from 2025 through 2047. 100 cases imported.
-Wine Spectator 95 Points
Aromas of forest floor, grilled herb, camphor and pipe tobacco mingle on the nose of this full-bodied red. The firm, elegantly structured palate offers juicy Marasca cherry, red currant, licorice and coffee bean. Tightly wound, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity grip the close and lend an ageworthy structure. Drink 2026–2041.
-Wine Enthusiast 95 Points Cellar Selection
Delicately perfumed and finessed, the San Polo 2016 Brunello di Montalcino Podernovi is very floral and lifted in personality. This vintage is very different than the inaugural 2015 vintage. I remember the previous release for its darker and blacker quality of fruit. This cooler vintage is more lithe and lighthearted, with building aromatic intensity that unfolds with caution and care. Once you've had the wine in your glass, it reveals a succession of sour cherry, wild rose and fresh lavender bud. There are light mineral dustings as well, and the wine is ultimately quite solid and structured. This bodes well for its aging evolution. Fruit comes from a two-hectare parcel in a cool and high position some 450 meters above sea level. The soils are clayey with schistous Galestro. Production is 13,000 bottles.
-Wine Advocate 95+ Points
A mix of wild herb, Tuscan scrub, rose, cherry and earth flavors mark this sleek red, which tiptoes between elegance and power, with a layer of chalky tannins underlying it all. With air, the ripe cherry and plum fruit comes forward. Best from 2025 through 2047. 100 cases imported. –BS
-James Suckling 95 Points
This is a phenomenal new red from San Polo with superb depth and intensity with plum, wet earth and black truffle. Full body. Chewy and ripe tannins and a long and flavorful finish. The depth and beautiful is gorgeous. Needs three or four years to come together. Better after 2022.
-Flastaff 95 Points
Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz-Cabernet is made from 55% Shiraz, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep purple. Boysenberry and mulberry aromas with a hint of cedar and pepper. Similar berry fruits show through on the opulent, textured palate with a lingering finish.
Fermentation took place over 10 – 12 days in a combination of open and static fermenters. The temperature was closely monitored to ensure the wine retains its natural fruit expression. New and older French and American oak was used for the maturation of selected wine parcels over a period of 13 months. These parcels were put together from our family estate to best demonstrate the depth and character of our fruit, balanced by integrated oak.
Review:
It's gorgeously ripe and perfumed on the nose showing blackberry, sweet cherry, vanilla and hazelnut characters with a touch of pepper spice. The palate displays lovely weight and plump mouthfeel, leading to a lengthy supple finish. Brightly expressed and immediately appealing. At its best: now to 2027.
-Wine Orbit 93 Points