2014 Boekenhoutskloof Sémillon

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 86.5 points

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  11/17/2020 - forceberry wrote: 87 Points

  The grapes are sourced from three vineyards, planted in 1902, 1936 and 1942. Fermented spontaneously and aged for 14 months in barriques (90%) and concrete eggs (10%). No MLF. 13,2% alcohol, 1,9 g/l residual sugar and 5,1 g/l acidity. Tasted in a Boekenhoutskloof Sémillon 2017-2005 vertical.
  
  Quite youthful, medium-deep yellow-green color. Dry and surprisingly woolly nose with surprisingly little in the way of fruit, exhibiting more aromas of woolly lanolin, savory wood spice, some waxy tones, a little bit of honeysuckle, a hint of chalk dust and a touch of hay. The nose shows good complexity, but comes across as a bit dull due to the lack of fruit. The wine is quite full-bodied, ripe and slightly oily on the palate with flavors of ripe citrus fruits, savory wood spice and creamy oak tones, a little bit of spicy red apple, light floral notes of honeysuckle, a woolly hint of lanolin and a touch of chanterelles fried in butter. The moderately high acidity keeps the wine nicely balanced and structured. The finish is rich, ripe and quite long with layered flavors of golden apples, some woolly lanolin, a little bit of buttery oak character, light creamy tones, sweet hints of apricots and wizened peaches and a touch of hay.
  
  A sophisticated, balanced and complex South African Sémillon, but one that comes across as slightly underwhelming and a bit more dull compared to the surrounding vintages, thanks to the somewhat understated fruit tones and more pronounced woolly character that tends to develop in Sémillon with age. Although I'm the first to say "fruit is overrated", I think this wine could benefit from slightly more pronounced fruit character. However, it seems that these Boekenhoutskloof Sémillons tend to hit a sort of slump at the age of 5 years or so, when their fruit flavors recede into the background, only to re-emerge after another 5 years or so. So based on the aging curve of these wines, I think this wine is not now showing its best, but instead will open up and perform much better if left in a cellar. This is a good wine, but didn't leave a lasting impression among the better vintages. Perhaps a bit pricey at 38,89€, but hopefully this will change as the wine ages.

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  1/14/2018 - Michal A wrote: 87 Points

  Very rich and creamy which was pleasant for a while but ended up being a bit overpowering. Otherwise nice acidity and a long finish.

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  1/13/2018 - martijnkriens wrote: 87 Points

  Semilion from South Africa. Soft but still dry. Low onacidity but ok. Nice bitter in the background

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  4/24/2017 - thunberg wrote: 85 Points

  Solera Trade Tasting (Stockholm, Sweden): @Solera sortimentsprovning, Stockholm

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