How to tell your Sauvignon Blanc from your Sauvignon Blanc... A Quick Guide

By Angela Mount

Wine drinkers are as fickle as followers of fashion, and restaurant goers… or so it would appear.  There are fashion trends in wine, just as there are in food, clothes, and TV shows.  Only a few years ago, a host of unfortunate Chardonnay producers faced the public backlash of ‘anything but Chardonnay’, as wine drinkers in their droves turned away from the grape variety that had helped make Australian wine famous ( even though many still drank Chablis!).

Now Chardonnay is making a comeback, although it never really went away, and we hear rumblings that white wine drinkers are starting to tire of the bright, zesty, intense flavours of Sauvignon Blanc. My view is that’s because they’re trying the same old styles time and again, and by ringing the changes ( and countries), there’s a wealth of different types and something for every taste from this fabulous grape.

Sauvignon Blanc wines broadly divide into 3 main styles: firstly, bright, bold, tropical fruit and fresh lime; secondly, leaner, grassy, herbaceous styles; and finally smokey, oaked styles (usually from California). So if you don’t like one of these, there are plenty of others to play with; of course the different styles will also vary considerably by country, depending on location, climate and soil.

Sauvignon Blanc is grown all over the world, and loves places where it’s cooler – it’s favourite homes are the Loire, in northern France, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and South Australia.

Let’s start with France, or rather the Loire Valley, where it first made its name and claim to fame, as the grape behind world famous Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. Elegant, bone dry, with a gooseberry and herbaceous freshness, they often have a hint of smoke, and are more gentle and restrained in style.  For fabulous value try similar wines, from their lesser known, but impressive neighbour – try MENETOU-SALON DOMAINE DE CHATENOY 2012,  with its lively, bright, yet subtle character and thoroughbred edge. Or you won’t go wrong, for a picnic white with the simple, but crisply fresh , and delicate SAUVIGNON DE TOURAINE, DOMAINE DE PIERRE 2013.

If you prefer your Sauvignons slightly softer and creamier, but still gentle, move to Bordeaux, where they blend in a tiny bit of the richer, fatter Semillon CHATEAU SAINTE MARIE 2012, ENTRE DEUX MERS. Spain also produces some lovely , delicately herby styles, in the northern region of Rueda, and the MARQUES DE RISCAL RUEDA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013, is a great example of this fragrant, leafy, lime-tinged style.

All credit has to go to New Zealand for lighting the fuse that rocketed Sauvignon blanc wines to stellar status, and the styles divide firmly into 2 across the celebrated Marlborough region – look out for Wairau River on labels, if you like your Sauvignon rich and tropical; for a similarly vibrant, fruity, yet fresher, edgier style, the cooler, Awatere Valley produces some real thoroughbreds, with sultry elegance, and a fresh lime, gooseberry and zesty style – multi-award winning winery Yealands, with its  trophy-winning YEALANDS ESTATE RESERVE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013, is about as good as it gets.

Over in Australia, Sauvignon blanc struggled for a long time, because of the heat, which deprived the wines of their freshness, but there are now some stunning Sauvignons coming out of the cooler regions of Adelaide Hills, and Eden Valley, as well as the breezy coast of Western Australia, where ARE YOU GAME SAUVIGNON BLANC 2012 is made – fresh, distinctive, with wild herbs and fresh green edges, and a flinty edge.

People often ask the difference between New Zealand Sauvignon blanc and those of other New World countries – I’d say South African and Chilean styles lie somewhere in between the two – less overt and full on boldness than many Kiwi Savvys, but a little bit richer, and more tropical than their Loire counterparts. South African Sauvignon blanc wines used to have a tendency to be too grassy, leafy and sappy, but in recent years, the winemakers have sorted this out, and today, there are some fabulous wines, bright, fresh, and more gentle than many, with more delicacy, and gentle lime zest qualities, such as the MEINERT LA BARRY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013.  Similarly Chile has really upped the pace and also the quality, especially from the far north in the Elqui Valley, and the very far south, the Bio-Bio.  There used to be loads of very sour, flat, undistinctive Sauvignons from this country, but over the last few years, there’s been a catwalk parade of super- stylish whites. Some of the best come from the hills of the beautiful Leyda Valley, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where the cool ocean breezes keep the nightime temperatures low and the grapes fresh. In my opinion, Chile is now delivering some of the very best value Sauvignons at every level of the scale – so if you want top notch styles, with a bit less intensity than New Zealand, you’ll find some fantastically elegant wines such as some of my favourites, VINA LEYDA RESERVA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013, which has to be just about the best drop of SB for your buck on the market right now, at a cracking price of £8.95, and the Decanter trophy winning VINA LEYDA SAUVIGNON BLANC GARUMA VINEYARD 2012 – cooly elegant, classy, vibrant, yet restrained.

So there you have it – Sauvignon blanc isn’t just one style; food wise – partner the lighter, fresher, gooseberry and greener styles with fresh salads, simple seafood and fish – save the full-on , vibrant, passion fruit and wild herb styles for fabulously spiced Asian and Indian dishes– enjoy the discovery!