Review: Oates Ends Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020

This Oates Ends Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is very much how I remember the best barrel-fermented Margaret River SSB styles that I first fell in love with back in the early noughties. Good work Cath Oates.

Creamed herbs. Passionfruit Sauv aromatics. Palate crunch. Angular acidity but textural width too. Light and shade. Real flavour intensity is what sets this apart, the acidity not unripe. It’s not profound – more fresh than complex – but a cut above most regional styles on balance and intensity. Best drinking: now to 3 years. 17.7/20, 92/100. 12.5%, $25. Oates Ends website. Would I buy it? Worth a bottle.