Home   >   Latest wine reviews   >   Novelty Hill 2014 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Late Harvest Sèmillon, Columbia Valley, $25

Novelty Hill 2014 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Late Harvest Sèmillon, Columbia Valley, $25

By on July 17, 2017

Few in the Northwest will attempt producing Sauterne-inspired wines, but Mike Januik has the experience and the talent to pull it off beautifully. His storied collaboration with Stillwater Creek Vineyard on the Royal Slope of Washington’s Frenchman Hills gives him the ability to harvest these golden Sèmillon berries at 46 Brix. His whole-cluster pressing and surlie aging for four months in neutral French oak leads to gorgeous aromas of baking spice, apricot jam, honey and butterscotch. As a drink, the white Bordeaux offers the hedonism one hopes for with flavors of poached pear, maple nut ice cream and crème brûlée. There’s nice viscosity to the mouth feel, yet balance from Key Lime juice acidity for the 23% residual sugar. And it’s backed by a finish of toffee. Enjoy the nectar from these 375-milliter bottles with a thick slice of pound cake.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 251 cases

Alcohol: 10.5%

Winery website

Subscribe to our Wine of the Week newsletter

Save

Save

Save

About Great Northwest Wine

Articles credited to Great Northwest Wine are authored by Eric Degerman and other contributors. In most cases, these are wine reviews that are judged blind by the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.