Become A Better Taster // Sauvignon Blanc
This is part of an ongoing series called Become A Better Taster! Each post will illustrate the essential aromas and tasting notes associated with a specific grape varietal. Use this post as a baseline when tasting your next Sauv Blanc!
What do you smell and taste when you splash a Sauvignon Blanc into your wine glass? Not totally sure?
Below is a handy visual guide to the classic aromas and tasting notes you might find in any Sauvignon Blanc. There will be differences and nuances in texture and flavor depending on the origin of the wine, how it was grown, the year of the wine, how it was finished in its winemaking process and more (more on that below).
Here are a few more basics to help you find your footing when exploring a new-to-you Sauvignon Blanc. Clink, clink!
SOME NUANCES YOU MIGHT TASTE
• Old World expressions of Sauvignon Blanc (those produced in Europe, including England) tend toward tart + lively notes -- like lemon, lime, flint, sometimes smoke, gravel, as well as riverbed + fresh spring blossom on the nose. Old World Sauvis also feature a higher value of acid on the palate.
• New World expressions of the Sauvignon Blanc (produced anywhere outside of the EU, including New Zealand, South America, South Africa and the U.S.) are often more fruit-forward due to their warmer climates. You'll taste riper notes like white peach, a variation of grapefruits, lemongrass, bell pepper, cut grass, guava, starfruit + kiwi. New World Sauv Blancs are usually a little juicier and slightly less acidic than their Old World counterparts.
Those green vegetal notes (like bell pepper) you taste in some New World wines come from a compound called pyrazine found naturally in the grape, which will generally dissipate as the fruit receives more sun + heat, making its palate feel a touch juicier and rounded with fruit flavor.
• Other common flavors and aromas you might find: Gooseberry, kumquat, honeydew + passionfruit
ABOUT ITS PERSONALITY
• The word 'sauvignon' derives from the French word for 'savage'. This thin-skinned white grape is a bit wild and hard to manage!
• It thrives in cooler temperatures and, while it doesn't require loads of sunlight, it does ask for lots of tender love and care from the people growing it. Lucky for us, the result of this high maintenance is a complex juice that expresses a wide range of flavors + aromas that appeal to an equally diverse number of wine lovers.
• You can count on Sauvignon Blanc always being light bodied, and in general, the grape boasts a refreshingly high level of acid.
• You'll often find Sauvignon Blanc mingling with friends! White Bordeaux (or Bordeaux Blanc), for example, is a blend of Sauv Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.
• A few regions in France also label their Sauvignon Blanc by appelation instead of grape. So when you see 'Pouilly-Fumé' or 'Sancerre' on a French label, you're actually looking at a crisp Sauvignon Blanc!
WHAT DOES THE BARREL HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
New World Sauvis are sometimes stored in barrels (a.k.a. oak), which imparts a rounder, richer quality to the wine, that adds a tinge of barrel spice like nutmeg and allspice.