I have to admit a passion for Bordeaux whites. Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers were the first white wines I remember tasting, really enjoying and subsequently investigating where they came from. This was in my very early twenties, so to impress a beer swilling rugby player they must have been notable – to me, anyway. I think Bordeaux whites were a lot more popular then, as the fashion has moved away from the broader, less acidic, flavours of the semillon grape to the more sharply defined sauvignons. This wine contains both grape varieties, though there is no indication of the proportions on the label. The Wine Society web site states that the semillon is grown on limestone and consists of old vines – presumably to give more intensity of flavours. It cost £14.95 .
To look at, it was a very bright and clear greeney-gold with some viscosity on the sides of the glass. The nose changed the longer it was left in the glass, initially having obvious floral qualities changing to more oaky/vanilla notes with a lemon acidity as the balance. We both thought the nose ‘weakened’ slightly during the tasting. The palate was dry, with high acidity initially; there was an attractive edginess to the wine. However this lessened as the wine developed and the lower acidity, fatter style of the Semillon – and the vanilla notes – came through. Richard thought the wine had a hard (mineral?) finish; it was certainly of medium length.
We were glad we drunk this wine when we did (we had it with sea bass and asparagus) and didn’t think it would improve. Personally, I still like this style of white wine which I liken to old-style white Riojas with their lower acidity and vanilla flavours.
Footnote: web search found that the blend was 40% each of Sauvignon and Semillon with 20% Muscadelle.
Talk the Cork 