Sémillon is the main driver of benchmark wines in places and styles as varied as Sauternes dessert wines, dry Graves Bordeaux Blanc, and dry Semillon from Hunter Valley, Australia. James Sparks, co-owner and winemaker of Kings Carey, approaches the grape with the same precision that has defined his work at Liquid Farm in Santa Barbara, whose 2022 White Hill Chardonnay was in the September 2023 Kompas selection. (A quick aside here: it's a great indicator of a winemaker’s talent when one of their other labels is chosen for the club before the connection to the winemaker is realized.) Named for his Carey, Idaho hometown and his wife Anna’s Kings Point, Long Island roots, the label focuses on small-lot, vineyard-specific bottlings. The 2022 Sémillon comes from the SIP-Certified Starlane Vineyard in Happy Canyon and was picked at an exceptionally early 17° Brix, then fermented and aged in neutral barrels with six months on the lees with only partial malolactic, a regimen very akin to classic Hunter Valley Sémillon, which has been producing some of the world’s most age-worthy dry whites since the 1830s. Spark’s version, at 11 percent alcohol, gives bright citrus, apple freshness and some pineapple core and then the bracing acidity quickly evolves on the palate into a creamy mouth-feel with a lemon zest finish that eventually gives you hints of its future nutty and honey self. It would do well with aged Gouda as well as non-vinaigrette salads with grilled chicken or with some Thai food.