An Old/New World: Sauvignon Blanc

The first three Pinophile posts pushed this one back in the pipeline, but last Tuesday we dove into some Sauvignon Blanc.  Prior to my departing Chapel Hill, Avy Gravy and I settled into a nice rhythm of scooping up Harris Teeter's coldest bottle of generic Sauvignon Blanc and capping off episodes (seasons...?) of The Wire, so I was eager to learn more about the grape.

A bottle of Sancerre (Stuck-up French AOC appellation for Sauvignon Blanc), and

Roberre (Fed-up Georgian anticipating ETA of his Sauvignon Blanc)

The highlight of the tasting for me was Kris Kringle (Cael Pulitzer to some) coining the adjective "herbalicious" to describe the wines.  After the jump, Sauvignon Blanc.

The world of Sauv Blanc has been and still is a battle of Old vs. New World.  It's an aromatic grape grown in cool climates that effuses vegetal, spicy, and green fruit aromas known for producing razor-sharp, acidic wines.  The New World vintners like to experiment with it and produce pungent, exuberant versions, while the Old School preaches more restrained citrusy, mineral-ey blends.  One example of the New World going out on a limb is today some New Zealand winemakers are experimenting with oaking their Sauv Blancs (Sacrebleu!)  That being said, some French wine producers are quietly trying to get their hands on New Zealand real estate so they can grow Sauv Blanc here (Clos Henri was denied permission to do so at one point).  Popular regions for the grape include The Napa Valley, Chile, New Zealand (esp. Marlborough), and the South African Coast.  In New Zealand, Sauv Blanc got its start when Marlborough's sheep farmers gave up on their flocks due to miserable grazing conditions and took up viticulture.  Lastly, on the food pairing front, i'm told its acidity cuts nicely through richer/fatty things like cheese and fried calamari.

The wines:

2010 Doctor's Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - $19NZ) - 

Clear, clean fruity nose, acidic green apple taste and herbaceous (herbalicious) feel.

2009 Sileni Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - $20NZ) - 

Clear gold, unclean nose with some asparagus and cut grass aroma, really sharp/biting acidity and short length.  Example of a classic Marlborough-style Sauvignon Blanc.

2009 Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough - $28NZ) - 

Gold, clean texture, sharp pronounced nose of fresh cut grass and green beans.  Medium acidity and length.  This was one of the wines where Oak was experimented with (barrel fermentation).

2008 Henri Borgeois Sancerre La Vigne Blanche (France - $38NZ) - 

Golden clean texture, Earthy nose that was a little rough w/ some asparagus.  Earthy tones and minerality that are the hallmark of Old World Sauv Blancs.

2009 Henri Borgeois Sancerre Les Bonnes Bouches (France - $38NZ) - 

The darkest of the lot, honey nose with medium acid and some butterscotch.

Sorry I can't remember more, that was all I could glean from my week-old notes. 

-Trevor