Dry Australian Sémillon is one of our neighbour winemaking neighbour's quirkiest, most individualistic wines. This wine comes from the iconic Brokenwood Winery in the Hunter Valley, a relatively rainy region where moisture tends to force early harvests with slightly lower sugars and pronounced acidity, which allows the wines to age well for decades. 

This wine drinks well now and has fresh green herb aromas and flavours. It will also age well. We'd give this accessibly priced Aussie Semillon a good 10 years in the cellar and then vive la difference.

This stunning South Island Sauvignon Semillon blend is a maverick New Zealand take on the classic white Bordeaux blend, offering fresh, bright and delicious aromas of ripe apple, lime, gooseberry and passionfruit. The Sauvignon (70%) brings fruit flavours and excellent acidity while the Semillon (30%) brings fruit weight, richness and age ability, due to its pronounced acidity. 

Both varieties were aged on their natural deposits of yeast lees for approximately 10 months, prior to blending. This lees contact brings creaminess and body. Once bottled, the wine was left to age for another year before release, allowing the varietal characters to integrate further.

This wine drinks deliciously well now, preferably served in a large glass, but it has a long history of great age ability too and is a good wine for the cellar.

newwine1023, 

The story of Alpha Domus began in 1989 when the Ham Family, Anthonius and Leonarda, along with their sons purchased 20 hectares of bare land in an area of the Western Heretaunga plains, later to become known as the Bridge Pa Triangle Wine District.

Pioneers in the area they established one of the first wineries and were instrumental in the formation of The Bridge Pa Triangle Wine District, giving the sub-region an identity as a premium wine growing area of Hawke’s Bay.

This wine is made using both fully and patially botryised Semillon grapes, harvested from original plantings. Fermentation took three to six weeks and was stopped once the perfect balance of alcohol, acidity and sweetness had been achieved. 

The luscious palate of orange blossom, apricot and honey flavurs are completed by a zesty citrus finish. Ideal as an aperitif, or to complete your evening.

WINEMAKING NOTES

The fruit for this wine was grown on the upper terrace at Askerne Vineyard and is predominantly Clone 14 Semillon. It was handpicked then whole bunch pressed, lightly settled and transferred to barrel. 100% barrel fermented with a mixture of wild and inoculated yeast, the wine was then aged on its lees for 18 months prior to blending and bottling. Final blend has a 33% new French oak component and the balance 2nd fill.

ANALYSIS

pH 3.05
TA 6.8
Alc 13.0%
RS 0.9g/L

TASTING NOTE

Bright aromas of lemon, fresh tangerine and tropical pineapple with mineral notes and hints of scented oak spice. The palate is rich and textural with concentrated lemon and stonefruit flavours on a backbone of bright zesty acidity which gives a wonderfully long finish.

AWARDS

94 Points Cameron Douglas
94 Points Sam Kim

Lovely mid-depth colour with purple tints. Lifted red fruit and earthy notes on the nose. Ripe fruit and low oak impact on the palate, with the new oak providing a slight vanillin sweetness that compliments the berry fruit. The ripe fruit tannins are complemented by the natural fruit acidity, resulting in a very long finish for the wine. A stylistically typical medium-bodied Hunter Valley Shiraz from a very good year.

Last Bottles of our Inaugural 2021 vintage and the 2022 who took home BEST SEMILLON in Show at Barossa Wine Show 2024!

SALVIS GRATIA* (meaning 'Saving Grace') is a small-batch labour-of-love, carefully hand harvested from some of the last remnants of the Madeira Semillon clone in the Barossa, planted by the Fechner brothers in 1983. SALVIS GRATIA* is an exciting addition to our 'Barossa Nouveau' series joining our established Old Vine Grenache stars Pax Aeterna and Lux Venit* Rosé. This series is all about championing these remnant Old Vine varietals that have always been special, but have sometimes fallen off the radar as new varietal fads come and go. Like PAX and LUX, SALVIS is made in a minimal intervention style - hand harvested, gently whole bunch pressed, 25% completed ferment and matured in new sirugue french oak puncheon. SALVIS GRATIA* is a sublime, zesty, elegantly opulent expression of Barossa Semillon... it's an absolute ripper!

TASTES like: Lemon Curd / White Nectarine / Toasted nuts

SMELLS like: Beeswax / White Florals / Citrus

DELICIOUS with: Lemony Roast Chook / Delicate Salmon Sashimi / Creamy Lobster Risotto / Soft, Tart Goats Cheese

As always; unfined & vegan friendly. Only 493 dozen made

Winemakers: Daniel Chaffey Hartwig, Huon Fechner + Theo Engela
Varietal: Semillon
Alc/Vol: 13.2%
pH: 3.1
Acidity: 6.3