The current release from 2021 is the results of the tweaking of winemaking style and vineyard locations as we constantly seek to build balance and complexity into our wines. The fruit is sourced from two vineyard blocks. The Semillon is sourced from Finniss in maritime climate of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Our Sauvignon Blanc is from the Kuitpo region of the Adelaide Hills (which is where the Coates winery based). A cool climate location ensures that the grapes have an elegance of flavour and good natural acidity that we seek to preserve in the finished wine.
Winemaking
Our winemaking style is traditional with a gentle press of the grapes to yield the softest fruit characters. The Semillon (65%) and Sauvignon Blanc (35%) were picked and pressed at different harvest times then the juice combined in tank to cold settle. The Sem Sav juice was natural yeast fermented with fine solids in 25% new and 75% seasoned French oak barrels then aged on lees for six months. Blended and bottled in October of 2021, The Semillon Sauvignon Blanc will be drinking well for another eight to ten years.
Tasting Notes
Light straw in colour, the nose shows restrained tropical fruits accompanied by lemongrass and a hint of brioche. A lithe palate with plenty of citrus zing with guava and delicious toast notes leading into a long, crisp finish.
Technical Information
Alcohol – 13.0% by volume Residual sugar – <2.0 g/L
Total Acidity – 6.7 g/L Volatile Acidity – 0.5 g/L
pH – 3.05 Sulphur Dioxide – 26 mg/L Free, 105 mg/L Total
Reviews
Score 89 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (Erin Larkin)
The fruit for the 2021 The Semillon Sauvignon Blanc is from both the Fleurieu Peninsula and the Adelaide Hills, the combination of which lends a crunchy austerity to the palate. This is textural and chalky, with a plush bed of fruit (from the Semillon) and a taut framework of tart fruit above. The phenolics through the finish are waxy and grippy and serve to offset the acidity, which appears a little edgy at that point.
Score 93 Wine Front (Mike Bennie)
Serious stuff from Coates. Always considered, premium/fine wine paradigm stuff. Here from a blend of Fleurieu and Adelaide Hills.
Textural feast! Sapid, tightly wound, good concentration of flavour, excellent extension too with cool, green herb-laced acidity following through. A lick of nuttiness, light tropical fruits, capsicum and ginger to taste and smell. Chalky pucker, gently, here too. Delicious, easy drinking feel but with enough generosity and layers to make you take this way more seriously. It’s straight up excellent, and I bet it cellars really well.
Score 95 James Halliday Wine Companion (Ned Goodwin MW)
Oak is the orb around which this classic bordeaux blend should gravitate. Without it, the meld is zesty, fruity and too often, ordinary. With it, the stars align. Here, optimally ripe parcels mesh with fresher portions. All fermented spontaneously in used French wood. The result, giddy. Guava, hedgerow and sugar snap peas find effortless confluence with tatami hay, spearmint and lemon balm. This will age beautifully over the short–medium term.
