Home > Wines We Love > 2021 Sigurd Reserve Semillon

The suite of reserve wines is a welcome addition to the Sigurd portfolio, with this elevating a variety so infrequently celebrated in the Barossa. Mineral, spicy and laced with umami on a bed of citrus, this is textural, chewy and so engagingly savoury and complex.

Producer
Sigurd
Region

Barossa Valley
RRP

$72
Vintage

2021
Variety/Varieties

Semillon
Alc./Vol.

12.1%

The suite of reserve wines is a welcome addition to the Sigurd portfolio, with this elevating a variety so infrequently celebrated in the Barossa. This is from the sandy soils of Vine Vale and plants that clocked in at around 110 years at the time of picking. Mineral, spicy and laced with umami on a bed of citrus, this is textural, chewy and so engagingly savoury and complex.

Tasting note

A deep lemony gold hue, no doubt from the fermentation and year-long maturation in 4-year-old barrels. There’s plenty of flavour on the nose, but the pedal is on savouriness and off primary fruit, with smoky-umami-malty notes, lanolin, anise, carraway-flecked rye bread, pumpernickel and green chilli seeds across a lemon-fruited backdrop. There’s ample texture, a gravelly mineral character and gentle but meaningfully present line of acidity enhanced by a dry clutch of phenolics.

Themes of this wine

Semillon

In league with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, semillon is responsible for the dry whites of Bordeaux, as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Barsac et al. In Australia, semillon found its own unique niche in the Hunter Valley, making low alcohol, super-bright and zippy wines that age for decades, while in Margaret River it is more often than not blended with sauvignon blanc to make the region’s signature aromatic white.

Barossa

The Barossa is arguably Australia’s most revered wine region. It dwarfs many other fine wine regions for scale, while firmly maintaining a quality profile, with its distinctive style and character recognised worldwide. It is dripping in history, has far and away the largest resource of old and ancient vines in the country, and fifth- and sixth-generation growers and makers proliferate. It is fair to call it the cornerstone of Australian wine. It is the home of powerful red wines, established names making established styles, but there are also makers finding new meaning in the territory.

Home > Wines We Love > 2022 Smallfry ‘Tangerine Dream’

‘Orange’ wine with a perfect balance between savoury tension, in both flavour and feel, with citrus peel and subdued blossom flecked with warm spices and earthy notes, a prudent amount of grip adding structure.

Producer
Smallfry
Region

Barossa Valley
RRP

$36
Vintage

2022
Variety/Varieties

Muscat Pedro Ximénez Riesling Roussanne Semillon
Alc./Vol.

12%

This is our favourite vintage for Smallfry’s orange wine, with a perfect balance between savoury tension, in both flavour and feel, with citrus peel and subdued blossom flecked with warm spices and earthy notes, a prudent amount of grip adding structure.

Tasting note

A blend mainly made up of semillon and pedro ximénez, with riesling, roussanne and muscat in support, this has seen a good dose of skin contact, which is evident from the deep orangey gold colour. It’s firmly in orange/amber wine territory but it doesn’t trade in all the brightness for savouriness. Candied citrus peel, Meyer lemon, carraway and a savoury take on bitter orange marmalade all feature on the nose, with a dusting of clove and ground ginger and a sandy, earthy note. There’s grip, of course, a plum skin chew, with some fleshy pockets of fruit richness providing ballast, a hint of fennel seed closing out.

Themes of this wine

Skin Contact

The skins hold the colouring matter and lots of tannin. Leave them in contact with the juice/wine and you’ll extract those elements. Most conventional white wine sees no skin contact, rosé a little bit to get a blush, and red wine plenty to get the colour and structure. Skin-contact whites… well, they have some skin contact. Yep. More colour, more tannin and a different flavour profile.

Semillon

In league with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, semillon is responsible for the dry whites of Bordeaux, as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Barsac et al. In Australia, semillon found its own unique niche in the Hunter Valley, making low alcohol, super-bright and zippy wines that age for decades, while in Margaret River it is more often than not blended with sauvignon blanc to make the region’s signature aromatic white.

Pedro Ximénez

Pedro ximénez is a Spanish grape that is best known for a varietally labelled Sherry that is dark in colour and lusciously rich and sweet, with strong flavours of dried fig and date. The variety prospered in this country when fortified wines were the dominant species, and suffered equally after their massive decline. Today, the variety still goes to making some Sherry (called Apera here now) styles as well as dessert wines, but most has been removed from vineyards. However, there are makers now using the grape to investigate new styles based on heritage plantings, and some brave souls are even planting it.

Riesling

Riesling is one of the world’s most versatile grapes, capable of making styles from aridly dry to lusciously sweet, plus everything in between, and with a transparency that reflects where it was grown like few – if any – other grapes. Hailing from Germany, it’s equally embedded in France and Austria, while the style made famous in the Clare Valley that once defined Australian versions has now been joined by a multitude of expressions, and from right across the country.

Roussanne

Hailing from France’s Northern Rhône, roussanne is slowly making a mark in Australia, with the grape well suited to warmer climates, producing wines of texture, fruit depth and freshness, while also making compelling expressions in cool climate zones. With aromas of orchard fruits, in the pear and golden apple spectrum, roussanne also typically displays herbal aromas, though not in the grassy spectrum, more akin to alpine herbs and sage.

Muscat

An ancient group of grapes, the muscat family, which has something like 200 documented variations, all have a linking characteristic of being headily aromatic, with floral, grapey and musky notes. The opulence of the grapes makes them ideal for sweet and fortified wines, which they are predominantly used for.

Barossa

The Barossa is arguably Australia’s most revered wine region. It dwarfs many other fine wine regions for scale, while firmly maintaining a quality profile, with its distinctive style and character recognised worldwide. It is dripping in history, has far and away the largest resource of old and ancient vines in the country, and fifth- and sixth-generation growers and makers proliferate. It is fair to call it the cornerstone of Australian wine. It is the home of powerful red wines, established names making established styles, but there are also makers finding new meaning in the territory.

Biodynamic

An organic farming method created by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, biodynamics is a slightly mystical approach, employing elaborate organic ‘preparations’ to restore the natural balance of the soil and encourage microorganisms. It also observes the lunar cycle to prescribe actions in the vineyard and winery. Why some of it works is not clearly understood, but it is used by some of the world’s greatest producers.

Home > Wines We Love > 2021 Cullen Wines ‘Amber’

From the certified biodynamic Cullen vineyard, this is Vanya Cullen’s foray into orange wine territory. A predictably amber hue, this has herbal and citrus notes, lemongrass and a savoury accent, with pithy grape-skin tannins giving characteristic grip.

Producer
Cullen
Region

Margaret River
RRP

$39
Vintage

2021
Variety/Varieties

Sauvignon blanc Semillon
Alc./Vol.

12.5%

From the certified biodynamic Cullen vineyard, this is Vanya Cullen’s foray into orange wine territory. A predictably amber hue, this has herbal and citrus notes, lemongrass and a savoury accent, with pithy grape-skin tannins giving characteristic grip.

Tasting note

A 60/40 blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, this saw an average of 10 days on skins in open fermenters, amphorae and a concrete egg. The skin contact has given this a gentle golden hue, like a young whisky, with the sauvignon blanc subtly recognisable under the savoury aromatic lift, with gravelly mineral-like aromas, lemongrass, fennel frond and orange blossom all contributing to a subtly complex nose. Those skins are evident on the palate, with decent tannic chew cinching the wine in, though the fruit freshness still shines through.

Themes of this wine

Sauvignon blanc

When you think of sauvignon blanc, it’s hard not to think of New Zealand almost immediately, and the pungently expressive examples from Marlborough. But sauvignon also contributes to some of France’s most noble wines, as well as a huge diversity of expressions in Australia, both bottles solo and in blends. One of the most aromatic of grapes, sauvignon blanc is not shy for flavour and typically is quite high in acid. On the leaner end, those flavours will be very grassy and herbal and advance through passionfruit to some quite opulent tropical characters as the fruit gets riper.

Margaret River

If you’re after a wine region with a healthy dose of conspicuous glamour, then Margaret River has it all. Three hours south of Perth, ‘Margs’ is littered with iconic wineries, many with dazzling cellar doors and world-class restaurants. And then there’s the abundant sunshine, and the beaches – oh, those beaches… It’s a beautiful, beautiful place, and for a young wine region it’s very mature, with well-established paths to success built largely on the twin pillars of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon (et al). Names like Cullen, Moss Wood, Woodlands, Leeuwin Estate and Vasse Felix feel like they’re etched in stone, but in the last little while, smaller players have been making their mark.

Skin contact

The skins hold the colouring matter and lots of tannin. Leave them in contact with the juice/wine and you’ll extract those elements. Most conventional white wine sees no skin contact, rosé a little bit to get a blush, and red wine plenty to get the colour and structure. Skin-contact whites… well, they have some skin contact. Yep. More colour, more tannin and a different flavour profile.

Egg-shaped fermenters

Amphorae are some of the most ancient winemaking vessels, and the modern practice of using ovoid fermenters is a very similar idea, with the shape encouraging ferment vectors to swirl and tumble. While amphorae are typically made from clay, eggs (and various other similar shapes, including tulip-shaped vessels) come in a range of materials, from concrete to ceramic to steel.

Biodynamic

An organic farming method created by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, biodynamics is a slightly mystical approach, employing elaborate organic ‘preparations’ to restore the natural balance of the soil and encourage microorganisms. It also observes the lunar cycle to prescribe actions in the vineyard and winery. Why some of it works is not clearly understood, but it is used by some of the world’s greatest producers.

Home > Wines We Love > 2018 Cullen Wines ‘Grace Madeline’

A blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon from older vines. Cullen has given the fruit a bit of a luxury Bordeaux treatment with plenty of classy oak, but the vibrant lift of cut herbs and cassis leave the strongest impression, with a textual but brightly fresh palate following up.

Producer
Cullen
Region

Margaret River
RRP

$39
Vintage

2018
Variety/Varieties

Sauvignon blanc Semillon
Alc./Vol.

13%

Named in homage to Vanya Cullen’s maternal grandmother, the newly minted ‘Grace Madeline’ is a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon from older vines. Cullen has given the fruit a bit of a luxury Bordeaux treatment with plenty of classy oak, but the vibrant lift of cut herbs and cassis leave the strongest impression, with a textual but brightly fresh palate following up.

Tasting note

The sauvignon in this has seen 75% new oak for three months, but the fruit swallows it without pause, with lifted notes of nettles, blackcurrants, soft herbs and a hint of lemongrass. There’s a savoury side to this, with a gentle but assertive grip to the palate and a milky barrel note adding complexity, gravelly minerals adding further dept through a long finish with pillowy texture wrapping around a bright acid spine.

Themes of this wine

Margaret River

If you’re after a wine region with a healthy dose of conspicuous glamour, then Margaret River has it all. Three hours south of Perth, ‘Margs’ is littered with iconic wineries, many with dazzling cellar doors and world-class restaurants. And then there’s the abundant sunshine, and the beaches – oh, those beaches… It’s a beautiful, beautiful place, and for a young wine region it’s very mature, with well-established paths to success built largely on the twin pillars of chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon (et al). Names like Cullen, Moss Wood, Woodlands, Leeuwin Estate and Vasse Felix feel like they’re etched in stone, but in the last little while, smaller players have been making their mark.

Sauvignon blanc

When you think of sauvignon blanc, it’s hard not to think of New Zealand almost immediately, and the pungently expressive examples from Marlborough. But sauvignon also contributes to some of France’s most noble wines – principally in the Loire Valley and Bordeaux – as well as a huge diversity of expressions in Australia, both bottled solo and in blends.

Semillon

In league with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, semillon is responsible for the dry whites of Bordeaux, as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Barsac et al. In Australia, semillon found its own unique niche in the Hunter Valley, making low alcohol, super-bright and zippy wines that age for decades, while in Margaret River it is more often than not blended with sauvignon blanc to make the region’s signature aromatic white.

Home > Wines We Love > 2021 Alkina Kin Semillon

Under Alkina’s exploratory Kin label, this is all old vine semillon, planted in the 1950s, with a whisper of skin contact bringing out some dried ginger and a pleasing drying pucker to the floral, lemon-scented fruit.

Producer
Alkina
Region

Barossa Valley
RRP

$35
Vintage

2021
Variety/Varieties

Semillon
Alc./Vol.

13.2%

Alkina is a no-expense-spared operation that is turning out some exciting wines from its biodynamic Barossa vineyard, both from 70-year-old vines and newer plantings. Under Alkina’s exploratory Kin label, this is all old vine semillon, planted in the 1950s, with a whisper of skin contact bringing out some dried ginger and a pleasing drying pucker to the floral, lemon-scented fruit.

Tasting note

A gently hazy green-gold hue leads to aromas of lemon leaves and blossom, sage, a hint of Calvados-like apple essence, sourdough and dried ginger amid ferrous, stony mineral notes. There’s plenty of subtle texture here, a slip of richness up front being cinched in with fine skinsy tannins, tugging gently through the close, the flavours running long and the gentle drying pucker giving this high refreshment value.

Themes of this wine

Barossa

The Barossa is arguably Australia’s most revered wine region. It dwarfs many other fine wine regions for scale, while firmly maintaining a quality profile, with its distinctive style and character recognised worldwide. It is dripping in history, has far and away the largest resource of old and ancient vines in the country, and fifth- and sixth-generation growers and makers proliferate. It is fair to call it the cornerstone of Australian wine. It is the home of powerful red wines, established names making established styles, but there are also makers finding new meaning in the territory.

Semillon

In league with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, semillon is responsible for the dry whites of Bordeaux, as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Barsac et al. In Australia, semillon found its own unique niche in the Hunter Valley, making low alcohol, super-bright and zippy wines that age for decades, while in Margaret River it is more often than not blended with sauvignon blanc to make the region’s signature aromatic white.

Skin contact

The skins hold the colouring matter and lots of tannin. Leave them in contact with the juice/wine and you’ll extract those elements. Most conventional white wine sees no skin contact, rosé a little bit to get a blush, and red wine plenty to get the colour and structure. Skin-contact whites… well, they have some skin contact. Yep. More colour, more tannin and a different flavour profile.

Egg-shaped fermenters

Amphorae are some of the most ancient winemaking vessels, and the modern practice of using ovoid fermenters is a very similar idea, with the shape encouraging ferment vectors to swirl and tumble. While amphorae are typically made from clay, eggs (and various other similar shapes, including tulip-shaped vessels) come in a range of materials, from concrete to ceramic to steel.

Biodynamic

An organic farming method created by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, biodynamics is a slightly mystical approach, employing elaborate organic ‘preparations’ to restore the natural balance of the soil and encourage microorganisms. It also observes the lunar cycle to prescribe actions in the vineyard and winery. Why some of it works is not clearly understood, but it is used by some of the world’s greatest producers.

Home > Wines We Love > 2021 Edenflo ‘Lemon Krush’

With semillon taking the lead, the 2021 ‘Lemon Krush’ is an essay in citrus, from a lemon-scented fragrance to the refreshingly drying pucker of lemon barley water gifted by Wardlaw’s masterly hand with skin contact.

Producer
Edenflo
Region

Eden Valley
RRP

$35
Vintage

2021
Variety/Varieties

Chardonnay Semillon Viognier
Alc./Vol.

10.5%

Andrew Wardlaw was making lo-fi wines well before the term entered the winemaking lexicon, and his subtle mastery is evident in what is becoming his flag-bearing wine. With semillon taking the lead, the 2021 ‘Lemon Krush’ is predictably an essay in citrus, from a lemon-scented fragrance to the refreshingly drying pucker of lemon barley water gifted by Wardlaw’s masterly hand with skin contact.

Tasting note

Semillon with a splash of chardonnay and viognier, this is a hazy pale gold, with aromas of lemon barley water, lemongrass, wild grasses, quinine and orchard blossom scents. There’s a pucker of lemon barley water, or lemon juice in water, on the palate, a subtle saline note and a gentle web of skinsy tannins, giving this plenty of quenching and thirst-making appeal all at once, yellow and orange citrus flavours fanning out on the finish.

Themes of this wine

Semillon

In league with sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, semillon is responsible for the dry whites of Bordeaux, as well as the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Barsac et al. In Australia, semillon found its own unique niche in the Hunter Valley, making low alcohol, super-bright and zippy wines that age for decades, while in Margaret River it is more often than not blended with sauvignon blanc to make the region’s signature aromatic white.

Chardonnay

With an explosion of interest over the last few decades, chardonnay is now the world’s most planted white grape. With its ability to grow in varied conditions and make everything from sparkling wine, to lean and mineral whites, to full-bodied textural expressions, it is perhaps no surprise to see Burgundy’s key white grape become so dominant.

Viognier

A highly aromatic grape, viognier is very distinctly scented with apricot, which can vary from the flesh, to the kernel, to apricot blossom, and those characters can be extremely exotic when quite ripe. It is also a grape that is quite phenolic but with low acidity. So, ripe examples will tend to be luscious and rich with high alcohol. Picked earlier and the apricot notes are more delicate, with acidity more of a feature.

Skin contact

The skins hold the colouring matter and lots of tannin. Leave them in contact with the juice/wine and you’ll extract those elements. Most conventional white wine sees no skin contact, rosé a little bit to get a blush, and red wine plenty to get the colour and structure. Skin-contact whites… well, they have some skin contact. Yep. More colour, more tannin and a different flavour profile.

Eden Valley

Eden Valley is the higher altitude section of the Barossa zone, nestling up against the Adelaide Hills and being meaningful cooler than its neighbour, the Barossa Valley. Riesling and shiraz are the key varieties, both typically being cast in an elegant light, with shiraz fragrant and lifted, though still with plenty of power, while riesling is characterised by race and verve.

2021 Sigurd Reserve Semillon Barossa Valley

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Semillon

Barossa

This is our favourite vintage for Smallfry’s orange wine, with a perfect balance between savoury tension, in both flavour and feel, with citrus peel and subdued blossom flecked with warm spices and earthy notes, a prudent amount of grip adding structure.

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Skin Contact

Semillon

Pedro Ximénez

Riesling

Roussanne

Muscat

Barossa

Biodynamic

From the certified biodynamic Cullen vineyard, this is Vanya Cullen’s foray into orange wine territory. A predictably amber hue, this has herbal and citrus notes, lemongrass and a savoury accent, with pithy grape-skin tannins giving characteristic grip.

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Sauvignon blanc

Margaret River

Skin contact

Egg-shaped fermenters

Biodynamic

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Margaret River

Sauvignon blanc

Semillon

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Barossa

Semillon

Skin contact

Egg-shaped fermenters

Biodynamic

Tasting note

Themes of this wine

Semillon

Chardonnay

Viognier

Skin contact

Eden Valley

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