Forget-me-not Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017
Tasting Notes
Imagine lying in a meadow late in summer with the smell of sweet hay all around you, underlain with the delicate fragrance of white flowers. This is what you get when you open a bottle of the Spring Seed ‘Forget-me-not’ and when you taste it, that dreamy summer meadow follows through onto the palate with a twist of lime, too. Forget-me-not is a classic white wine blend, and is so versatile; mixing and matching with spicy Thai food, creamy cheeses or on its own.
Vintage
We had terrific winter and spring rains leading up to vintage 2017, a marked contrast to the previous year, proving once again if proof were needed, that every vintage is different. We had a cool early part to spring too, combined with the spring rain. Flowering was about 3 weeks later than the previous year which of course meant that vintage was 3 weeks later than normal, or as some old locals said sagely, back to the old normal. There was a very long and slow ripening period which is terrific for allowing grapes to develop their flavours. We had a pretty dry February March and April, once the spring rains finished in mid-January. Overall a late vintage with some incredibly promising reds and outstanding whites.
Winemaking
Making the Forget-me-not in the tradition of a beautiful fresh and floral dry white style is reasonably simple. We pick both Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc at night, to keep hold of the delicate characters of the varieties. Semillon is picked later, generally. We ferment both Sem and SB in stainless steel tanks, because we can control the temperature in the tanks and ensure a cool ferment. We don’t mature the wine in oak barrels, because we are making a fresh bright wine. Oxygen is the enemy of the floral characters, so we try and keep it away (this is called reductive handling). Once the grapes have gone through ferment it is pretty much straight to bottle.
Reviews
Wine Spectator Online Jun 2019
Intense with notes of lanolin and beeswax that mingle with succulent bright flavours of lemon curd, mineral and ruby grapefruit, revealing savoury details on a medium body.
91 points
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Picking Date: 23rd February 2017, 8th and 10th March 2017
Alc/Vol: 12.5%
Bottling Date: 4th September 2017