Body: Medium to full bodied
Taste: Mineral, lime acidic, with age the flavor becomes toasted honey with lime
Primary grape in Sauternes dessert wines, such as Chateau Yquem,

Constantly blended with other grapes and used  as a backdrop, the humble Semillon is the key ingredient in the great Sauternes dessert wines and a background player in great dry Bordeaux blends such as wines from Graves or Pessac-Leognan. But despite it's second-string standing,  a recent interest in this grape has emerged, and several wineries produce a single varietal wine.

Semillon's typical flavor is a racy acidity with a touch of lime and mineral, which generally makes for a bland wine. Give it some love and tender care and a decade of aging and Semillon transforms, gaining a toasted honey flavor mixed with citrus and lime. In areas where Semillon excels, such as the regions of Graves or Pessac-Leognan in Bordeaux, France, Semillon can make for a stunning wine with lemon/lime acidity, apples and a smooth, almost oily texture.

Australian Semillon or Semillon Chardonnay blends are mostly very ordinary wines of no real redeeming feature other than the low price and easy drinking. Some Semillon from the Margaret River, Hunter Valley, or Clare and Barossa regions are doing better with this varietal however and are worth trying. Same goes for the Semillons of Oregon State in the USA which make a perfect accompaniment with fusion & asian foods.