While some Australian Semillons are blended with Chardonnay, Simon
Hackett's version is a perfect 100 percent varietal bottling, with
fruit sourced from 30- to 50-year-old vines of the Brightview
Vineyard located in the Barossa Valley region of central southern
Australia. It's a lush, dense, dry, and leesy Semillon with rich,
long flavors that would wrap themselves nicely around a roast
chicken, although you may want to invest in a couple of extra
bottles and revisit them in, say, five to seven years.
CLARENDON HILLS 1998 CHARDONNAY, HICKINBOTHAM VINEYARD
CLARENDON ($28)
It seems that nearly everybody loves to dis Chardonnay these days -
that is, when they're not at home secretly quaffing the stuff.
Let's face it: There's a reason Chard is by far the world's most
popular white grape variety - when it's done right, it's wonderful.
Chardonnay is one of
Australia's strong suits and one of the
mainstays of the country's wine-export industry.
Clarendon Hills, 45 minutes south of
Adelaide, is the bailiwick of
Roman
Bratasiuk. Unlike many other Australia-based winemakers,
Bratasiuk makes his wines in a style that looks to
France for
inspiration. With vines that date back to the late 1800s, Bratasiuk
preserves their particular terroir by vineyard-designating all his
releases. The wines are fermented on natural yeasts, undergo
minimal racking in the barrel room, and then are bottled with no
fining or filtration. This lush and spicy Chard serves up refined
fresh fruit before plunging into a long, lively finish.
SHAW AND SMITH 2001 SAUVIGNON BLANC, ADELAIDE HILLS
($17)
Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith are cousins who decided to open
their own winery after discussing the idea over a long lunch. Shaw
had worked at Australia's large Petaluma winery, and Smith, whose
family has been in the wine business for several generations, was
the first Australian to earn the coveted Master of Wine
distinction. They suspected - correctly - that the cooler climate
of the Woodside appellation, located in the Mt. Lofty Ranges east
of Adelaide, would lend itself to killer Sauvignon Blanc, a
varietal that both of them love.