Sauvignon Blanc
As with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc's historical homeland is in France, where it made the names Cloudy Bay came along and Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume have been playing catch-up ever since in the popularity stakes.
Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most distinctive grapes around, both in aroma and in flavour. It's almost instantly recognisable, even for the newest of wine buffs, with its freshly cut grass and gooseberry nose. In classic Sancerre you even get what they call a whiff of cat's pee - a slightly ammonia-like, powerful scent. It's not really a description that I would use for such a lovely grape, but, hey, whatever floats your boat.
What Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, and a host of others from New Zealand during the 90s, did was prove that the New World could take a grape variety that had been grown for centuries in the Old World, and give it a new lease of life. They emphasised the fruity, forward nature of the grape and illustrated how the New World could give structure (i.e. balanced zip, or acidity) as well as flavour to a wine.
Like Riesling, Sauvignon is rarely oaked, but there are one or two versions in California, known as Fume Blanc, where this occurs. Generally, it doesn't work all that well. Sauvignon is a grape variety that is designed to be drunk young, very young-with most versions being consumed within a year of their 'birth', and few designed to age.
Pronunciation: So-veen-yohn-blohn (the last syllable should be pronounced as French, with that twang of nasality).
Where do I find it? The Loire (Sancerre, Quincy, Pouilly-Fume), Bordeaux, Southern France, Northeastern Italy, Australia, Chile, New Zealand, California and South Africa .
What does it taste like? You'll find all sorts here, but gooseberries dominate, along with some asparagus flavours, elderflower and often a nice limey edge.
Tell me something I didn't know: Sauvignon is often blended with Sémillon, especially in Australia, where the two are combined to make dry wines. In Bordeaux, however, Sauvignon and Sémillon combine to make one of the world's best dessert wines: sauternes.
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