Around the World in Five Sauvignon Blancs

Sauvignon Blancs have been seen as the also rans of the wine world. Their popularity in America waned to such an extent that Robert Mondavi, in a marketing ploy, started calling his Sauvignons, Fumé Blanc. His new SB's tried to ride on the coat tails of chardonnay with a fuller, more oaky style. Thank goodnes that style did not catch on!

Drum roll please! Clare and I want to go on record with this announcement. We have found one country that is producing some of the cleanest, freshest SB's around. They are absolutely mouthwatering and, at least for the time being, affordable. But more than this, they seem to be the biggest sure thing in the wine world. Now after all of this...you will have to read this article to find out why I gush.

A Big Slice arranged a sauvignon blanc tasting with two friends of ours, Lorrie Burroughs, and Neeraj Chander. The tasting was completely blind, no one knew the identity of all of the wines, only the grape. We chose a wine from each of five countries. After the tasting we voted for our favorites. Here are the rankings of our selections and their associated vinicodes. To view the ViniCode™ in detail, please click on the image.

Fifth Place : Domaine de la Villaudiere, France
Surprised? We were, too. The best wines from this region on the Loire River in France are light, crisp with noticeable mineral characteristics. If you have never detected flint in a wine, I liken it to a taste in my mouth that I used to get as a kid when I played with my cap gun. Now don't get nervous, this is not a taste that is going to knock you down, but it can be present. If you look at the ViniCode™, the Sancerre was very edged, to the point of unpleasantness. And frankly, both of the taste components of fruitiness and earthiness were below par. Almost like the wine was worn out. Now this was the most expensive wine that we tasted, why would it not measure up? Look at the year. SB's are meant to be experienced young and fresh. Perhaps this wine was simply past its prime. So rule of thumb number one: when looking for a sauvignon blanc, think young!

Fourth Place : Geyser Peak, California
This wine had a lot going for it. The only thing it really lacked was staying power. It was a little sweeter than the other selections. This might be due to the warmer climate in California allowing the grapes to get riper and therefore sweeter. Also it was a little fuller than the others. It had a weightier feel in the mouth. One of the characteristics that we have learned to love about SB's is the taste and aroma of asparagus. It is a fresh, herbiness that when balanced with other qualities is quite bracing. This particular characteristic falls under the category of earthiness. As you can see this wine was somewhat lacking. We anticipate it and miss it when it is not there. BUT, and this is rule of thumb number two, learn the characteristics present in wine, and (this is the important part) learn the ones you like! This is why tastings like this are so important and fun. If you like a fruity, medium bodied white, this may be the wine for you!

Third Place : Zarafa, South Africa
Zarafa is certainly a nice wine. But if we had a criticism, it needs to turn up the volume. The fruit and earth numbers were quite low. But to its credit it was a good sipper. The reason it faired so well might be in its rounded number. A six is quite high for an SB. But round wines typically do well at tastings because they are such crowd pleasers. The edges, so to speak, have been smoothed off. What kept this wine from placing higher was the same thing that enabled it to finish third. It lacked backbone. Think of it as a friend that you invite to a party and they make such an effort to be likable that they make almost no impression at all. So it wound up in the middle of the pack, where it should be. Rule of thumb number three, edged is not a bad quality. Think of a hot summer day and the refreshing, mouthwatering effects of lemonade. A little acid gives white wines some spunk!

Second Place : Casillero del Diable, Chile
We really liked this wine. It is affordable, and has all of the makings of a good Sauvignon Blanc. Not quite great, but very good indeed! If I was pressed to come up with a reason why it didn't win? Well, it was two-fold. It was a little muddled, and by this I mean that the tastes sort of blurred in my mouth. Think back to the days of 45's and LP's. The sound seemed wonderful, and it was in stereo! How could sound get any better than this? Then came the cd. And sound went to a whole new level. Every note could be heard, every part stood out. I remember when I got my first cd player I was absolutely stunned. Well, this wine somewhat plays like vinyl. Not as focused, but nonetheless good. And the second reason it didn't win was because it was up against a great Sauvignon Blanc.

First Place : Matua Valley, New Zealand
This wine was the class of the field. Every taster, and we had all kinds of palates and knowledge represented, chose this wine as number one! It is clean, focused and frankly, it has everything that there is to love about Sauvignon Blancs. When smelling the wine that first thing to jump out at you is the aroma of asparagus. But that does not overwhelm the wine. The herbal, grassy taste is balanced nicely by the citrus fruit, lemons and grapefruit galore! It is just edged enough to make it crisp, and there is not a speck of oak. Now here comes the gushing. New Zealand is doing wonderful things with this grape. They don't seem to hit a wrong note. And this is rule of thumb number four, if you are looking for a consistently good Sauvignon Blanc, think New Zealand. If you are looking for a great one, think Matua Valley!