Aussie gold
The lowdown There are plantings of Semillon from South Africa to Eastern Europe, but the grape variety really comes into its own in Bordeaux and Australia. In Bordeaux, it's usually blended with Sauvignon Blanc, which adds a zesty flash of fresh acidity. The best dry versions come from the Graves and Pessac-Léognan appellations, while the sweet version stars in Sauternes.
The Aussies say Semillon, not Sémillon, and while it pops up all over the country, it is most famous in the Hunter Valley, where the traditional style is unoaked. When young, it tastes pretty one-dimensional, but give it 10 years in bottle and it will knock you out with its waxy, lanoliney, custardy fruit. Add oak and you can drink it happily as an infant, but more happily when it's a fair bit older - think marmalade, toasted nuts and sweet spice.
The Aussies have taken to blending Semillon with other white grapes, including Chardonnay, but when a selection of suppliers were asked to submit samples to the Caterer tasting, more than half sent Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends, while the rest sent straight Semillon. But which would our expert panel prefer?
What we thought It comes as no surprise to learn - when we lift off the covers - that our outright winner is Suckfizzle Sauvignon Semillon, with the blends doing marginally better than straight Semillon in the end. Indeed, one of our tasters, Gordon Ramsay's wine director Ronan Sayburn, compared it to a "good white Graves". Praise indeed.
The cult Margaret River wine is made by the same folks who make the equally legendary Stella Bella. "The intent is to retain in winemaking the fruit character that each vintage brings," says winemaker Janice McDonald. She's being modest, of course. That's what all winemakers strive for, but McDonald has done much more than that.
There are many factors contributing to Suckfizzle's success, not least the cool maritime climate in which the grapes grow. The small vineyard, resurrected in the mid-1990s, is situated in the south-westerly extreme of the region, and along with the Sauvignon Semillon blend that we tasted, McDonald also makes a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
What kind of name is Suckfizzle anyway? Well, if you've read any Rabelais, you'll know it's one of his characters, the Great Lord Suckfizzle. McDonald's other label is Skuttlebutt (don't ask).
You would think, judging by the rest of the comments, that Suckfizzle stole the show, but once all our marks were counted, we unearthed four two-star wines and four one-stars - not bad going from an 18-strong line-up.
OK, so Kate Thal brought the scores down a bit - but then she's a tough taster, is Thal.
"My overall complaint is that they lacked flesh and varietal character," she moaned. "They were too young and rather harsh on the palate. On the plus side, you did get some nice freshness on the better examples. The only one I really liked, though, was the Mosswood Semillon. But the Brokenwood Semillon had a nice fresh style - and I didn't mind Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon," she adds, generously. (Two of those she already has on her list at her much-praised wine bar-cum-wine shop in London's East Dulwich.)
"As a variety, Semillon does have a place on restaurant wine lists, but only those made very carefully - with more flesh. If we were in the market for wines with a bit of age, then 10-year-old Semillon would be great, but we're not. No one is prepared to pay for old wine these days. Commercially, I think Australian Semillon is a tricky style," she concludes.
Joëlle Marti-Baron agrees with Thal. "It was pity that so many of the wines lacked character. Yes, they were mostly correct and probably commercially appealing, but some were clumsy and lacking in definition, and there was too much oak going on in some samples. The Suckfizzle was an exception, and it shows what can be done with the grape here, but it begs the question: why are there so many dull Aussie Semillons?"
Australian-born Mark van der Goot reckons he has the answer. "It's an acid issue. They are picking before the grapes have physiological ripeness, so they aren't developed as they should be. That said, I was impressed by the general standard," he says.
By the way, van der Goot included an unscheduled wine in the tasting, plucked from his award-winning (he scooped Best Wine List at the 2006 Tatler Restaurant Awards), 550-bin list - the Mosswood Semillon, which got two stars. "What I also think is very exciting is that Australia has really started to develop regionality - and you could clearly pick that out in this tasting."
"Semillon is certainly a brand champion for Western Australia," agrees Paul Henry, who tells us that although plantings are not increasing for this grape variety right now - there's an oversupply of white wines in Oz - Semillon is the second-biggest white grape after Chardonnay.
"Some of the wines today certainly suffered for being a bit dull - they needed to punch more weight," says Henry, candidly. "But the highs scored higher than I anticipated. I think Semillon Sauvignon can be a great style, but the winemaker has to be confident."
So what does Charlie Young think? Does Australian Semillon have a place on the list at his popular Clerkenwell wine shop-cum-wine bar, Vinoteca? "I haven't got any, actually, but I would put them on. I've been thinking about it. I enjoyed the tasting, though it was quite mixed. Some of the wines started out well but were let down by their finish. I was less keen on the oakier wines - I'd like to see the oak stripped right back. And I was surprised by how many were quite dry, which is a good thing. I liked the mineral quality that some of them had, too."
Which leaves multi-award-winning sommelier Ronan Sayburn with his take on the tasting. "There was some fairly good stuff here, but Semillon is a weird variety - it needs a bit of age. Some were just battery acid. They need time to fatten out and get some character, to get all honeysuckley, lanoliney and toasted nuts. We shouldn't really be drinking Australian Semillon unless it's 10 years old. The most recent vintage we have at Royal Hospital Road is 1989 Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon, which I like to pair with the lobster ravioli and shellfish reduction."
Nice match, mate. In fact, the panel reckoned that Australian Semillon has a lot of potential on that score, as it's pretty flexible when it comes to pairing with food. "I think it works well with both Mediterranean-style cooking and with Asian food, so from an industry point of view, Australian Semillon could prove quite useful," says Henry. Worth a look, I reckon.
Caterer ratings
* Knockout 2003 Suckfizzle Sauvignon Semillon, Margaret River (£13.82, Alliance Wines, 01505 506060)
"Complex smoky oak aromas - like a good Graves; honeysuckle, lime and tropical fruit on the finish" - RS.
- Mark van der Goot, proprietor, the Greyhound, Battersea (MvdG)
- Kate Thal, restaurant wine consultant and proprietor, Green and Blue Wines, London (KT)
- Charlie Young, co-proprietor, Vinoteca, London (CY)
- Joëlle Marti-Baron, wine director, Great Eastern hotel, London (JMB)
- Ronan Sayburn, wine buyer and head sommelier, Gordon Ramsay Holdings (RS)
- Paul Henry, manager, Wine Australia (PH)
- Fiona Sims, freelance food and wine writer (FS)