Well, the WWWWW piqued my interest in the wines of WA, and in searching for a WA Cabernet Sauvignon for WBW #34 I stumbled across this white. Always on the prowl for interesting whites, I thought WA Semillon sounds interesting, and the high Wine Spectator score was further inducement. I have to disagree with the Spectator (90 pts) on this one.The 2005 L'Ecole No. 41 Semillon shows a nice golden hue in the glass, with interesting and powerful aromas on the nose - green apples and butter, with some pine, white flowers and banana in the background - pleasing, but not overly complex. On the palate this medium-bodied white was rich, with juicy green apples, but lacking structure due to its low acidity and somewhat off balance with that high alcohol quite noticeable. Overall, a nice sipping wine with a nice nose to ponder, but a bit flabby and uncomplex. Paired well with steamed sole and an avocado/mango salsa, but may pair better with crab or lobster?
14.3% alcohol
Score: 15.5/20
Price: C$23 (SAQ)
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8 comments:
I've been looking to find more wines from WA too, they get very overshadowed by those from CA in shops around here.
I am sure a part of the problem is that the locals buy it up. I would definitely like to try some more...
Cool, a semillon from WA! Sounded a bit underwhelming, though.
I don't know how available they are, but I can recommend trying semillon from the Hunter Valley region in Australia. At their best, these wines are quite unique in style and best drunk with some bottle age. I've found them to be a little polarising (personally, I love them) but, if you find you love them, there's really nothing else like them around. Labels to look for are Tyrrell's Vat 1 and Mount Pleasant Lovedale (to mention the more high profile wines).
Hi Julian. This is highly ranked by Wine Spectator (90 ptss), but I was rather ho-hum - nice, but not WOW. We have Tyrrell's shiraz (any good?), but not the semillon. Can't find the Mount Pleasant either, but I will keep an eye out for both.
Hmm, depends on which Shiraz; Tyrrell's have a large portfolio spanning a range of quality. Of the more widely available, the "Vat 9" and "Stevens" are both good examples of the Hunter Valley shiraz style.
It's a shame that Hunter wines aren't more available -- even in Australia they tend to be appreciated most in their home state (New South Wales) more than in other areas.
We have the Brokenback for C$24. We also have the Sémillon Brokenwood Hunter Valley 2005 for C$21 and the Chardonnay Roxburgh Hunter Valley 2002 for C$45. Any thoughts?
Hey Joe,
The Tyrrell's Brokenback Shiraz isn't a bad one - it's a regional, single vineyard wine that should give you an idea of what the region does with Shiraz. If you're familar with our richer styles from the Barossa, etc, a Hunter Shiraz may come as some surprise. If it's the 2003 vintage, then even better!
The Brokenwood Semillion is a reliable, representative wine and 2005 was a good vintage in the area. Try one young and chuck one in the cellar for a few years to see how it changes!
Julian.
thanks for the tips, Julian, will check those out.
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