The Wine
Forlorn Hope “Nacre”
The Semillon grape is not well known by the average American wine consumer. Originally hailing from southwestern France, it was mainly used in dessert wines.
However, Sémillons grown in Australia’s Hunter Valley have started to make a lot of joyful noise around the world. They are generally un-oaked, and can age for decades while still maintaining it’s acidity.
This particular version of Semillon comes from Yountville, California(Napa Valley) and is made by amazing winery, “Forlorn Hope”. They use farm dry farmed(no irritation) and organically treated vines. After the grapes finish fermentation in stainless steel tanks, they were bottled in June of 2014 in order to allow the significant portion of the wine’s aging and development to occur under cork. To this end, it was aged five years in bottle prior to its release in the winter of 2019.
Like a speeding train, crisp acids race down the back of your tongue. Zesty citrus fruits immediately reveal themselves, yet there is still a richness on the palette with hints of beeswax and jalapeño on the long finish. Drink with food or by itself. This wine can stay open for a LONG time and will continue to change and add different flavors then the previous day. Good luck not finishing this on the first day though.