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Château Climens Bordeaux Petite Lily 2022

Given the lay of the land in Bordeaux today it would be reasonable to assume that the region has always been dominated by red vines and red wines, although it would not be correct. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Bordeaux vineyard was predominantly white, and number one among a huge range of cultivars, one much broader than the rather select list of varieties found here today, was Semillon. This variety was everywhere, left bank and right, from Blaye and Bourg all the way down to Graves and the Entre-Deux-Mers.

At the end of the 1800s phylloxera swept through the region, and much of the region’s viticultural diversity was lost; Semillon survived though, one of a small number of varieties that the vignerons chose to replant, and thus it retained a strong position in the vineyard. This remained the case throughout the first half of the 20th century, continuing into the 1950s. It was the great frost of 1956 which reshaped the landscape; catastrophically low temperatures did not merely damage the new season’s buds and leaves, as several modern-day frosts have done, but killed the vines themselves. While some of the worst damage was done in St Emilion and Pomerol its impact was felt far beyond these two appellations and entire vineyards – not infrequently white, and not infrequently Semillon, given its dominance – were destroyed.

The frost signalled the start of the great decline in white in the region, from more than 50% of the vineyard, to about 10% today. Grasping the post-frost nettle, many vignerons chose to replant with red varieties, a response to a perceived shift in market preferences, which increasingly saw Bordeaux’s raison d’être as red. Other varieties lost out too of course – the area planted to Malbec, for example, plummeted – but the whites were arguably the hardest hit. And within the world of white Bordeaux a new favoured variety would soon emerge, as during the latter half of the 20th century many vignerons seeking to make a dry white would shun Semillon in favour of Sauvignon Blanc.

Château Climens Bordeaux Petite Lily 2022

To some extent this was accelerated by the influence of Denis Dubourdieu (1949 – 2016), proprietor, academic, consultant and a great advocate of the variety. Sauvignon Blanc soon came to rule dry white Bordeaux, often picked and vinified in a manner which favoured the thiols, a very modern (and arguably un-Bordeaux) style. Semillon, meanwhile, was relegated to a minor walk-on part, the principal exception being in the region’s sweet wine vineyards, where it remained highly valued for its reliable crop, its botrytis-prone thin skins when ripe, and its synergy with the flavours of noble rot.

The notion of Semillon as a dry wine, especially in isolation, was lost from Bordeaux. Think of the last pure Semillon cuvée you tasted and I suspect it is more likely to have originated from Australia’s Hunter Valley, one of the world’s Semillon hotspots, than from Bordeaux. Nevertheless dry cuvées of pure Semillon are returning – admittedly in tiny numbers – partly because as a number of Sauternes châteaux continue the move away from sweet wines to dry as they chase the modern palate they find the raw material they have to work with is of course Semillon. In addition, perhaps the changing climate in Bordeaux, now more like the Hunter Valley than at any other time in recent history, has given some the courage to eschew Sauvignon Blanc in favour of Semillon.

Château Suduiraut is one prominent example; while the dry wines of this estate have long been blends, the refashioned range released in the 2020 vintage includes the Pur Semillon Grand Vin Blanc Sec, no prizes for guessing the variety featured in isolation here. Another is Château Climens, where the concept is I suppose inevitable given that this is the only variety planted here, the sweet wines for so long 100% Semillon.

The estate now produces four dry cuvées, all from the estate’s young vines, the distinction between the cuvées originating with the splitting of the juices at pressing, and the inclusion (or not) of the vin des bourbes, the very last drops of juice from the settling. One from this quartet is the entry-level Petite Lily, which is built from the later part of the press and a good dollop of vin des bourbes, the juices vinified and aged on the lees in stainless steel vats rather than the wine globes favoured for the more fancy cuvées.

In the glass the 2022 Petite Lily from Château Climens presents a pale straw-coloured hue. The aromatics are quite charming, all lime zest and orange peel, acacia and crushed chalk, seemingly very open and accessible. There follows a beautifully composed palate, one with a velvety texture which surely reflects the warm summer season, infused with the flavours of sweet pear and orange peel, all balanced by a cool phenolic grip, feeling very elegant and finely integrated, with modest acidity. There is such purity and drive here; this is an absolute delight for current drinking, although I am quite certain it has the grip to develop over the next few years, at the very least. Certified biodynamic, by Demeter. The alcohol on the label is 12%. 91/100 (23/9/24)

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