The cellar

Top-rated Semillon

Every wine

The highest-rated Semillon bottlings we have reviewed, one per producer.

5.0 Bordeaux Chateau d'Yquem Chateau d'Yquem 4.9 Bordeaux Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc Chateau Haut-Brion 4.8 Bordeaux Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion Blanc Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion 4.6 Provence Domaines Ott Clos Mireille Blanc de Blancs Domaines Ott 4.5 Umbria Muffato della Sala Castello della Sala 4.5 Provence Saint-Andre de Figuiere Confidentielle Blanc Domaine Saint-Andre de Figuiere 3.8 Alentejo Papa Leite Stories Branco Herdade Papa Leite

Region by region

Where Semillon is made

4 regions, with their best Semillon bottles and the estates that make them.

Wine and cheese

Cheese with Semillon

Every cheese
Queijo Serpa Velho Our pick Past 180 days Serpa Velho is hard, dry and intense, with a lingering flavour. A dry white fermented or aged wholly or partly in oak has the extra texture to stand beside it, and its acidity cuts the fat of the aged ewe's milk. Barrel-fermented or part-oaked dry white, Alentejo: Papa Leite Stories Branco
Tomme de Provence Our pick Tomme de Provence is creamy, with walnut and spice and a touch of acidity. A Provence white with part of the wine raised in old oak gains texture without vanilla, and its saline finish and fennel or almond notes sit beside the walnut. Provence white partly fermented or aged in old oak, Provence: Domaines Ott Clos Mireille Blanc de Blancs · Saint-Andre de Figuiere Confidentielle Blanc
Queijo Serra da Estrela Velho Our pick Velho is strong, salty and lightly peppery. A Dão white fermented on its skins, a curtimenta, brings a touch of grip and texture to meet that strength, and the salt in the cheese sets off the wine's fruit. Skin-contact (curtimenta) white, Dão: Quinta do Sobral Curtimenta
Caciottone di Norcia Our pick The riserva caciottone is fragrant, persistent, with a marked cream aftertaste. A full-bodied noble-rot white with sweetness and high acidity sets sugar against that cream and keeps it from cloying. Orvieto Muffa Nobile and Umbrian noble-rot whites, Umbria: Muffato della Sala
Ossau-Iraty Our pick These Sauternes are sweet, high in acidity and full-bodied, with apricot and honey notes. INAO calls the cheese salted without excess and often hazelnutty, so sweet fruit meets salt and nut. Sauternes, noble-rot sweet white, Bordeaux: Chateau d'Yquem · Chateau Rieussec · Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey
Ricotta salata della Valnerina Our pick Strong and lightly salty, this ricotta is eaten with oil and pepper or grated over pasta. A fresh, dry white with high acidity refreshes the salt and leaves the cheese's flavour to speak. Fresh Umbrian whites (Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio, blends), Umbria: Conte della Vipera

Plan the trip

Taste Semillon where it grows

Tastings and tours in the regions above, and somewhere to stay.

Booking links go to our partners (GetYourGuide, Viator, Zen Hotels), who may pay us a commission. It never decides what we cover. Editorial standards.

More regions are in research. Want Semillon covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to drink.

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