Bodega Norton recreates heritage Semillon from the 1950s

Argentine winery Bodega Norton is paying homage to the outstanding Semillons of the past by painstakingly resurrecting a 1959 expression unearthed from its cellars, db can reveal.

“100 years ago, the most important white variety for Argentina was Semillon,” David Bonomi, head winemaker for Bodega Norton, told the drinks business. “Chardonnay didn’t arrive in Argentina until the 1960s and Sauvignon Blanc not until the 1970s.”

After this point, winemakers began blending Semillon with these “newer” grapes, but prior to that Semillon was used to make “exquisite” single-varietal expressions.

“These days, Semillon often loses out commercially to Chardonnay and Sauvignon because of its texture, but Semillon has the capacity to age well for a long time,” said Bonomi.

It is precisely this propensity for ageing that led to the winemaker delving into the 25,000-strong library of wines in Norton’s cellar, which contains bottles dating all the way back to 1936. It was during this exploration of the winery’s archives that he discovered a bottle of Semillon 1959.

“When I tried this wine I fell in love with it. I felt electricity, goosebumps…” he said. “I decided to try to make the same wine in exactly the same vat, using the same winemaking process with grapes taken from the same vineyard as with the 1959.”

Using Norton’s massal selection of Semillon vines, including some that are more than 10 years old, Bonomi has created Norton’s Semillon 2018, a faithful representation of the 1959, but made in modern times.

“It’s important to respect the time that the wine needs to develop in flavour and aroma,” he said of his Semillon 2018. “All our stock for this wine is in the cellar at the moment as the complexity really only arrives after a minimum of 10 years. In 60 years time I want people to try the 2018 and have the same experience as I had when I tried the 1959.”

Crucially, Bonomi said, Norton’s “high-altitude” vines makes all the difference to the wine.

“Our vineyard sits at around 1,100m and gives higher acidity when compared with Semillon from other parts of the world. You only get that kind of acidity through altitude and we have the benefit of the Andes mountains, so we can always plant higher.”

Norton uses exclusively concrete vats, which Bonomi said allows for “precision winemaking” and differentiates its Semillon from that of other producers which “tend to use a lot of oak”.

Bonomi hopes to seduce the UK market with his heritage Semillon.

“The British market for me will always be the door-opener for Europe,” he told db.

Norton’s passion for fine Semillon echoes a wider renaissance for the white variety, with Hunter Valley producer Tyrrell’s making wines “with the ability to age for 30, 40, 50 years,” Bruce Tyrrell told the drinks business earlier this year. Its Tyrrell’s Semillon Vat 1 is Australia’s most awarded white wine.