Much has been written about Sémillon in South Africa. Quite right, too, after all, you could argue
it has as much history and more pedigree than Chenin Blanc. Unfortunately, the writings all point in one
direction; demise.
Research will show you that although it might not have
been the first grape to set foot in SA (Van Riebeeck writes of Muscat and
Chenin mostly) records are hazy and the ‘Green Grape’ which soon fills the
writings and vineyards of his descendants is almost certainly a clone of Sémillon.
How Sémillon became so dominant in SA by the 19th
century is also rather hazy. It was probably a combination of several factors.
Firstly, many Huguenots came from Southern France where the Sémillon was already
flourishing. Secondly, it is fairly hardy, crops well, ripens early so its
lowish acidity can be retained, and is resistant to many diseases. Thirdly, it
can be made in a variety of styles, from dry to intensely sweet, and the market
for dessert wines was already proven via ‘Vin de Constance’, so it was a
logical move. Fourthly, phylloxera had
devastated much vineyard land, so new plantings had to be made of available,
proven material.
Enter Sémillon, and it flourished. By 1822 it covered 93% of
total vineyard plantings. Its success, however, was its undoing. It cropped too
well and bore the brunt of the quota system introduced via the KWV, and as Paul
Steyn says in his heartfelt blog (i);
‘Sémillon’s reputation was in tatters, the price had
dropped and the variety disappeared into the shadows. It’s stayed that way ever
since’.
Paul laments; ‘What happened to Sémillon in South
Africa?’ I second that cry. Its demise
was truly as stunning as its growth. By the 1970’s it covered just 3% of
vineyard land and in 2012 had 1.2%.
A more scientific approach than mine is that of Eftyhia
Vardas in her Cape Wine Master thesis of 2009 (ii). Eftyhia shows exactly how phenomenal a grape
the Sémillon
is, and how phenomenally it has disappeared. Her analysis has shown that the
factors in its demise have been the rise in popularity of Chardonnay and more
lately Sauvignon Blanc, its cost relative to others ( in 2011 the cost per ton
to private cellars reached R4100, that’s more than Merlot) and its reputation
as a bulk wine grape. Even today, the majority of the plantings are in producer
cellar Breedekloof-land and only 23% is crushed by private cellars.
Eftyhia also points out the beautiful – if
uncommercial – fact that Sémillon needs to age to really show itself, which means
it, ‘will likely remain targeted to a dedicated consumer’. She feels, ‘this longevity of Sémillon wines….plays against
Sémillon in markets made up of consumers that are unprepared to cellar wines’.
Steenberg winemaker JD Pretorius adds that people have trouble with its name,
and because it often sees oak and age comes at a bigger price tag: thus seeing
an old, unpronounceable, oaked expensive white on a restaurant list would
hardly make it first choice.
Efthyia wrote in 2008/9, and before that Fiona
McDonald was writing that Sémillon was, ‘destined to remain a niche market’. Any change since then, I wonder? Especially as
guru Jancis Robertson has spoken of the, ‘very special quality of Semillon in
Cape vineyards’ and how it is…’chock full of personality’. And God bless her
for saying, ‘Sauvignon Blanc does pretty well in South Africa but to my mind
Semillon arguably does even better’ (iii).
It has been seven years since those golden words of
Jancis. And still no Sémillon. Well, not in area of plantings, certainly, but a
glance at Platter’s shows that there are now 32 producers of the grape,
including such luminaries as Stellenzicht, Boekenhoutskloof and Vergelegen; in
1994 there were just 9. It also shows how good it can be; one Five Star, five
Four and a Half Star, ten Four Star; in fact, of the 32 wines sixteen were
rated as ‘excellent’ with several untasted. I doubt that Chardonnay could offer
the same ratio. Sémillon has influential supporters, too. Despite it being,
‘the pursuit of wine-geeks’ (iv), Christian Eedes is a fan, so too Angela Lloyd,
also Michael Liedtke at Hathersage; but only in a blend. As a straight
varietal, he feels, it is ‘too edgy, with a character that can be dull and
which the consumer doesn’t go for’. Like Viognier, Michael doubts you would
want to drink more than a glass. Michael loves what Sémillon can do with Sauvignon
Blanc, but will not bottle it on its own this year. Definitely no renaissance, he feels.
Three years ago winemaker J D Pretorius was heralding
its renaissance. Today, he feels that price is a major factor in its
suppression; ‘demand is controlled by price, rather than producing more volume.
You are left with a chicken or the egg scenario, producers don’t make big
volumes because it doesn’t sell’, and if it doesn’t sell why would you plant
more?
I’m with the Sémillon ‘geeks’, though. As
JD says, it would be a tragedy if we lost it and we have very few white
varietals to choose from on our shelves.
Sémillon has the pedigree, the quality, the longevity,
matches more foods than Sauvignon Blanc, is ‘far more interesting than most
white wines’ (JDP) and has influential support; it just doesn’t have the sales.
(i) Paul Steyn, August 26th, 2013 What happened to Sémillon in South Africa?
(ii) Eftyhia Vardas . The Fall and Rise of Sémillon in South
Africa’ 2009 ICWM / CWA
(iii) Jancis Robinson
2007, http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20070514_4.html
(iv) Christan Eedes, June 2011 ‘Steenberg Vineyards spearheads Semillon Renaissance’ www.wine.co.za