Wilyabrup

Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Lenton Brae has an unrivalled fidelity with blending Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc in Australia. In 2007, Lenton Brae celebrated 21 consecutive vintages of its Semillon Sauvignon Blanc. To mark this achievement, Lenton Brae produced a reserve wine blended from these two varieties. As the wine proved to be extremly popular, we have decided to make it a permanent fixture..

The fruit for this wine was sourced from the 26-year-old Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc vines on the estate vineyard in Wilyabrup. These vines have consistently produced the backbone of the standard Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and have great intensity and concentration.

The 2010 vintage was warm and dry providing perfect conditions for these early-ripening white varieties. The grapes were hand picked, chilled, gently pressed and blended (60% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc) before fermentation in new French oak barrels. Post fermentation, the barrels were topped and stirred monthly. After 10 months maturation, the wine was stabilised and bottled without filtration.

Aromatically, the wine displays restrained lemon and citrus notes with a subtle, savoury oak influence. On the palate, the wine’s entry is soft and creamy and finishes with bright acidity and persistence. Approachable now, the wine will soften and continue to integrate in the short to medium term, though it has the fruit concentration to suggest long-term cellaring is possible. Suggested food pairings include fresh oysters and other shellfish.

Bottled December 2010.

Price: $50.00

"Quite complex, yet retains a fragrant edge. Tropical fruit to the fore, with gooseburry and grapefruit. Vanilla highlights come from the oak. Tight and refreshing palate that is very clean. Almost seamless transition in the mouth and the quality oak influence adds complexity. Give it a few years. This is a serious wine and one of the best SSB wines I can remember from Western Australia." 

17.8 /20 Barry Weinman,

finewineclub.com.au

"Fragrant, fresh and focused, with a lightly herbaceous bouquet of pineapple, passionfruit and gooseberries before an intense, forward and rather concentrated palate of pure, essential fruit flavour. Wrapped in clean, lemony acids, it finishes with lenght and brightness."

93/100 Jeremy Oliver

The Australian Wine Annual 2012.

"The 2010 vintage has certainly brought the best out of one of Margaret River's finest wines. Typically elegant and restrained in the Lenton Brae style, there is also great drive in the complex fruit beautifully balanced with fine quality oak. Built to last, this is a wine that needs time; it will begin to show its brilliant best over the next six to eight years."

Angus hughson, The Australian WISH supplement, 2 December 2011.