Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is widely cultivated in France and California. The Loire Valley produces wines that are 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc, most notably the crisp, tart examples of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Dry white Bordeaux wines are usually Sauvignon Blanc blended with Sémillon and aged in oak. While not the primary grape, Sauvignon Blanc plays an important part in the sweet and revered dessert wines of Sauternes.
Sauvignon Blanc is also produced successfully in Italy, Australia, South America, and — met with much recent acclaim — in New Zealand.
Historians believe that a Frenchman named Louis Mel first brought Sauvignon Blanc cuttings to California in the 1870s. His cuttings were not just any cuttings; they came from the world-famous Chateau d'Yquem vineyards, source of a magisterial dessert wine. He planted them in an area of the Livermore Valley now home to Wente Vineyards.
Needless to say, the vines grew so successfully they spread to other parts of California, such as Napa Valley, where a vintner named Robert Mondavi was beginning to make a name for himself in the 1960s.
How did Louis Mel acquire such prized Sauvignon Blanc cuttings?
Louis Mel happened to be married to the niece of the Marquis de Lur Saluces, owner of Chateau d'Yquem. The sweet wines of d'Yquem are so famous that even Thomas Jefferson asked to buy some back in 1787. The d'Yquem property is only 20 percent Sauvignon Blanc (the rest is Semillon), making the cuttings Mel acquired even more prestigious.
Sauvignon Blanc's Alias
Back in the 1960s when Robert Mondavi introduced a dry style of Sauvignon Blanc, he wanted to distinguish it from the sweeter, blander versions coming out of California. He called the new wine Fumé Blanc. Rather than trademark the name for his exclusive use, he permitted other winemakers to use it. Many American wineries label their Sauvignon Blanc wines Fumé Blanc. The variations in labeling can be confusing, but today Sauvignon Blanc and Fumé Blanc are the same wine.
Whatever the particular style, you can recognize a Sauvignon Blanc by its distinctive aromas and flavors. Wines from cooler climates have been described as grassy or herbaceous; from warmer climates they develop citrus and tropical characteristics; and in the late harvest style they take on notes of honey and roasted nuts.
SOME SAUVIGNON SAMPLINGS
Pascal Jolivet Pouilly-Fumé (Loire Valley, France)
Warwick Estate Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa)
Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
Casa Lapostolle Classic Sauvignon Blanc (Chile)
Louis Mel, Wente Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc (Livermore Valley, California)
