I am waiting for L’Ecole to let me down. One day we’ll argue, I know we will, but if I can get this fling with this virtuoso vineyard to last I will.
First, Plenty of Fish/Facebook/MySpace/e-Harmony/friend me someone to drink semillon with. What’s that? Don’t like that “tongue down the barrel of a shotgun” minerality? No surprise. I’ve been drinking semillon alone for years and years (dry, the Aussie Hunter Valley sort, not the Sauternes sort, but that is superb too and for a different post). Good luck in finding a sommelier who stocks a decent bottle. Can’t some Silicon Valley whiz-kid develop an algorithm to find one person left in the world who likes dry semillon? It does feel a bit like Moses in the wilderness, albeit without any followers.
Enough said. This is great. Just great. (And I forgot to write down the year! 2009 I think. It was just too enjoyable to get the details.) A little sauv blanc softens the harshness, there is hugely satisfying wonderful lip smacking luscious semillon depth, lime and lemon and a steely smoothness that lingers on the palate, and I have no complaints about this flavourful white. Would I serve it to guests? No. There’s no algorithm for an adventurous palate. But I’ll store it up and see what happens. (I kept a bottle of Voyager Estate semillon for ten years in the “cellar” and it opened up in a superlative breathtaking array of soft flavour as if buried treasure. No longer available at BC Liquor. No surprise.)
Price: $15.99 in Washington; I have yet to source it in BC.
Market Liquidity: Marry me L’Ecole.