Veiled vineyards is a project to unearth wines made in secret, by maverick winemakers in hidden cellars, or rare parcels previously destined to be blended, now set free to express their unique individuality and story. Preserving old vines has become a crusade for many in South Africa and UK wine merchant Woodwinters Wines has started off their new project with a wine made from historic old vine Semillon planted in 1942 and 1962.

Part of the uniqueness of this wine from Franschhoek old vines is how Mother Nature simply decided some of the Semillon grapes would naturally mutate to Semillon with purple skins and these grapes have been co-fermented to celebrate this unique phenomenon. With first stocks of this wine recently landing in the UK, I cracked a bottle of this “new release” 2016 to see what all the hype was about. Extra points for guessing which young maverick made this wine!

Veiled Vineyards Old Vine Semillon 2016, WO Franschhoek, 13.5% Abv.

This is a serious creation from classic Old Vine Semillon that offers up a complex nose of honied white peaches, orange peel, fresh fennel, dried green herbs, waxy yellow citrus, lanolin and melted butter. The aromatic complexity continues on to an impressively detailed, textured palate loaded with green pear, white citrus, baking spices, a touch of fresh fennel and a green leafy sapidity before nuances of bergamot and wet river pebble minerality. A really impressive, multi-dimensional white wine loaded with fruit intensity and fresh tangy acids. The extra bottle age allows this delicious Semillon to drink incredibly well now but still retains plenty of gas in the tank ensuring a long cellar life ahead. Drink this beauty now and over the next 8 to 10+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

For UK trade enquiries, contact Woodwinters UK at andrew@woodwinters.com