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Wine Details
Price:
$18.00 per bottle
Description:
50% Semillon / 50% sauvignon blanc. Duet is a California version of a Graves style Bordeaux Blanc, a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Philip first made this wine in the middle 1980s when it quickly developed a cult following, and it continues to do so today. The heart and soul of the wine are the two wonderful vineyards from which it is sourced: Richard Rued's small Semillon vineyards in Dry Creek, and Kent Richie's Poplar Vineyard on the Russian River. Contracts for both vineyards had remained with Philip's previous winery when he left, but he told both growers that if their grapes ever became available, he dearly wanted to work with them again. They did, and Duet was reborn.
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Varietal Definition
Sémillon:
A thin skinned grape producing wines of high extract and flavour but soft acidity. In France it combines with Sauvignon Blanc to make the white wines of Bordeaux, most notably the sweet dessert wines of Sauternes and Barsac. Its thin skin leaves it susceptible to the fungus botrytis* the much sought after 'noble rot' in these sweet wine regions. As a varietal it has fared best in Australia, notably the Hunter Valley, where it produces well-rounded wines with lots of tropical fruits and honeyed tones. Here too it is blended with Chardonnay and oak aged to give an added dimension.
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Sauvignon Blanc:
Sauvignon Blanc is widely grown in California — at over 15,000 acres, it’s now the third most planted variety — and often assumes the moniker ‘Fume Blanc’. This popular synonym, credited to Napa’s Robert Mondavi, derives from the grape’s historic home of Pouilly in France’s Upper Loire Valley, where Sauvignon Blanc is the dominant varietal and goes locally by the name of ‘Blanc Fumé’. When treated with respect and afforded suitable growing conditions, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the wine world’s darlings. Steely, racy acidity, green, gooseberry fruit, asparagus and a grassy, herbaceous character characterize dry wines made from this grape.
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