Sauvignon
Blanc
Charles
Wetmore, founder of Cresta Blanca winery, brought the first
cuttings of Sauvignon Blanc to California in the 1880s. Some
came from the vineyards of the legendary Sauternes Chateau
Y'Quem, world's most expensive and famous dessert wine. These
plantings did well in the Livermore Valley and Sauvignon Blanc
became one of the early American favorite wines, albeit mostly in a sweet style.
Eventually, Sauvignon Blanc lost favor with American palates, but regained popularity as a dry wine, often under an alias
in California, where it is now sometimes labeled as
"Fumé Blanc".
Sauvignon Blanc vines tend
to be quite vigorous growers, so it is especially important
to manage the canopy by careful pruning and even by thinning
leaves and shoots to direct the plant's energy towards ripening
the fruit. Unrestrained growth and over-cropping result in
neutral-tasting wines of little interest.
The varietal identity of Sauvignon
Blanc is typically similar to grass, bell-pepper, or grapefruit
in nature. New Zealanders liken it to "gooseberry",
but that is not a familiar smell or flavor to most Americans.
Quite often Sauvignon Blanc picks up an aggressive "catbox"
odor when the grapes lack sun exposure or are harvested underripe.
Clonal selection and viticultural practices that expose the
grapes to more sunlight yield wine that is more melon-like
in aroma. Development of hardier clones has helped production
levels, which were irregular in humid climates, due to this
variety's propensity to develop "powdery mildew" and "black
rot".
Barrel-fermentation,
although not commonly used for this variety when compared
to Chardonnay, can also modify the Sauvignon Blanc aroma and
add complexities. Blending Sauvignon Blanc with Semillon is
a common practice that can add richness and an extra element
of figs to the aroma, softening the sometimes abrasive Sauvignon
Blanc character.
This
blending is widespread in the Graves district of France's
Bordeaux region (normally 75-85% Sauvignon Blanc to 15-25%
Semillon). In the communes of Sauternes and Barsac, a blend
of 60-70% Semillon with 30-40% Sauvignon Blanc is more typical.
When allowed to hang, past the normal ripeness point for dry
table wine, the grape flavors may be concentrated by the influence
of a naturally-occurring mold known as "Noble Rot" (Botrytis
cinerea), to
make the area's famous dessert wines.
Loire Valley wines made from
Sauvignon Blanc, such as Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre,
are most often 100% Sauvignon Blanc, unblended and usually
made without the use of oak.
For many years, California
wineries made wine from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, but there
was almost no consistency of style: some made bone-dry wines
after the fashion of the French in the Graves and Loire regions,
while others chose to make very sweet, dessert-style wines
after the Sauternes and Barsacs. Even if the sweet wines are
left from consideration, there are plenty of inconsistencies
within the group of dry wines to leave consumers confused.
Keeping
the French traditional methods in mind, the California production
and marketing practices are decidedly ironic. California producers
tend to use the Loire-derived Fumé Blanc name and bottle
shape for their blended and oak-aged wines (more like the
Bordelais). Meanwhile, the California Sauvignon Blancs that
are 100% varietal and most likely without oak in fermentation
or aging (distinctly Loire-like practices), are most often
bottled in Bordeaux-style bottles!
Besides France
and California, Sauvignon Blanc also is produced
successfully by New Zealand and South Africa
(excellent in both), Chile, Argentina, and, to
lesser degrees of production, Washington State,
Australia, and Italy, where it is expanding.
With fairly good tonnage per acre and lacking
the inflationary consumer demand of Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc is often a very good
value.
Sauvignon
Blanc is usually quite distinctive and one of
the easier varietal wines to recognize by its
often sharp, aggressive smell. The most common
(but not exclusive) smell and/or flavor elements
found in sauvignon blanc-based wines
include:
|
Sauvignon
Blanc Smell and/or Flavor
Elements
|
|
Varietal
Aromas/Flavors:
|
Processing
Bouquets/Flavors:
|
Herbaceous:
grass, weeds, lemon-grass,
gooseberry
|
vanilla,
sweet wood
|
Vegetal:
bell pepper, green olive, asparagus,
capsicum
|
butter,
cream
|
Fruity:
grapefruit, lime, melon
|
oak,
smoke, toast
|
Aggressive:
mineral, "catbox"
|
flint
|
(see our
Tasting
Notes)
With naturally
high acidity, Sauvignon Blanc is always tangy,
tart, nervy, racy, or zesty, and this character
pervades even sweet and dessert versions,
keeping them from being cloying and
sticky-tasting.
Dry-style
Sauvignon or Fumé Blancs are very
versatile in accompanying foods and can handle
components such as tomatoes, bell peppers,
cilantro, raw garlic, smoked cheeses or other
pungent flavors that would clash with or
overpower many Chardonnays and almost all other
dry whites. In fact, Sauvignon Blanc is probably
the best dry white wine to accompany the
greatest variety of foods.
by
Jim
LaMar
RELATED LINKS
What is Fumé has additional useful information, including Fumé-friendly recipes, a Fumé "flavor-wheel", etc.
