2006 “CULLEN VINEYARD” SAUVIGNON BLANC SEMILLON

  
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Cullen Wines varies the ratio of Sauvignon Blanc to Semillon in a given vintage according to how these varieties perform in that vintage. Thus, as the Sauvignon Blanc was so outstanding in 2005, we decided that it should comprise the vast majority of this classic blend in this year.

  
 
     
Tasting notes   Reviews
     

This exquisite wine, which was made entirely from fruit grown on the Cullen’s vineyards, comprises 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, reflecting the relative plantings of these two varieties on those vineyards. The yields of both varieties were only 2.1 tons to the acre, which helps account for the intensity and depth of the wine. Sixty percent of the wine was fermented using natural yeasts and 45% were matured in new French oak. The wine has an alcohol level of only12%, which demonstrates perfectly that depth of flavour and complexity in a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend do not depend on a high alcohol content.

Colour: Pale straw with green tinges.
Bouquet: Amazingly complex for a young wine, combining clean lime, musk, melon and gunflint flint aromas with a touch of background vanillin oak.
Palate: Good depth of fine, elegant and persistent lime, musk and fig flavours. Lovely sweet fruit. A complete, complex and perfectly balanced wine with great persistence.
Cellaring: Up to 10 years.
Food: Crustaceans, oysters, fish and mild Asian dishes

 

  

Jeremy Oliver, The Australian Wine Annual 2008

Exploring the limits of this regional style, this funky, briney and slatey white blend reveals rather a meaty, pungent bouquet whose aromas of gooseberry and honeysuckle are backed by toasty oak and reductive, earthy elements. Punchy and savoury, its rich, chewy palate delivers plenty of intense fruit before finishing tightly with refreshing mineral acids. Unusually wild and complex.