Thorne & Daughters Paper Kite Semillon 2022

One of the key heritage varietals in South Africa is Semillon, a grape variety that the modern wine industry was practically built on, but which now finds itself as a small presence in the viticultural landscape here. There are still a number of incredible, old Semillon vineyards in existence and we have been fortunate enough to work with some of them.

Nuts and bolts
Semillon blanc and gris – Swartland 58 year old vineyard on alluvial, granite soil

Platter’s: ***** 96/100
Wonderfully refined Swartland old-vine semillon, 2021 showing hallmark substance & depth of fruit at moderate 13% alc, plus the smooth, ethereal flow that makes the wine so compelling. Savoury nuances of lemon zest, nuts & spice with a salty persistence. Natural ferment & 9 months in oak, 15% new this vintage.

Tim Atkin: 95/100
John Seccombe gets this Semillon, which includes 5% pink-skinned Semillon Gris, from a 1963 block on the Paardeberg. Lightly oaked for the first time, it’s a wonderfully intense, racy white with beeswax, honeysuckle and lemongrass notes, impressive underlying structure and minerality and subtle 5% new barrels. 2022-29

Christian Eedes, WineMag.co.za, 93/100
From a 1963 Swartland vineyard. A change in winemaking saw the wine spend three months in new 500-litre barrels from Austrian cooperage Stockinger done to offset the variety’s natural propensity to become reductive – it has certainly added the wine a little more polish. The nose shows peach, naartjie, hay and a hint of waxiness while the palate is relatively rich and thick textured with nicely integrated acidity, the finish long and intensely savoury.

Perswijn 16/20
Geur: peer, appel, bloemen, perzik, open
Smaak: subtiel, jeugdig, mooie zuren, lengte

About the wine
Paper Kite is our expression of old vine South African Semillon, and it is sourced from a 58 year-old vineyard in Swartland. These old clones of Semillon (including a tiny amount of Semillon gris dotted about the vineyards) deliver an expression of Semillon that is very much at odds with the modern, aromatic clones. The wines they produce are hauntingly beautiful and difficult to define.

The wine is rich, textured and complex, shows wonderful spice, floral and savoury tones, oat biscuits, sweet almond and green figs. The length of the wine is testament to the great age of the vines.