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Information about White Varietal
| Sacy | Sauvignon Blanc | Sauvignon Gris |
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Overview of Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a grape that is best grown in cool climates. In Europe, it is best known for vinification as a single varietal from the Loire in France, and to a lesser degree in the North of Italy. In the New World, it is widely grown in New Zealand, especially in the Marlborough district, in California, and in South Africa; it is now also grown in Chile. New Zealand has made famous the style of vinification in stainless steel; elsewhere it is vinified in a range of styles from stainless steel to old or even new oak, including barrel fermentation. It is most widely grown for blending purposes in Bordeaux, where it is usually the dominant partner in dry white wines, and a minor component of sweet white wines. Its most characteristic feature is its herbaceous aroma, variously described as grassy, gooseberry, cat's pea, asparagus; this is accentuated by cool climates. In warmer climates, notes of tropical fruits, most especially passion fruit, come to the fore. Sauvignon Blanc is usually drunk young. The color varies from watery to pale yellow, with a green tinge.
Terroir for Sauvignon Blanc
Climate: Sauvignon Blanc grows best in cooler climates. It buds late and ripens early, and so can do well with a short growing season. In Bordeaux it is significant that it buds after Sémillon but flowers before it, and develops botrytis more slowly. (It is usually harvested at the end of August, where Sémillon is typically harvested at the end of September.)
Sauvignon Blanc grapes
The distinct aromatics of Sauvignon Blanc are due to specific compounds:
Vinification of Sauvignon Blanc
There is a wide range of styles. Aging in oak barrels is used in Bordeaux, old oak for lesser wines, but new oak for the very top wines. Barrel fermentation and aging on the lees is used for the Fumé Blanc style in California. Prefermentation skin contact has mostly been abandoned. Oak maturation ameliorates the herbaceous qualities of Sauvignon Blanc, where maturation in stainless steel really brings out the varietal quality. The characteristic aromatic qualities of Sauvignon Blanc result from the presence of methoxypyrazines and thiols, which give herbaceous qualities seemingly like unripe fruits, often described as gooseberries or cat's pee. More than 10 thiols contributing to the characteristic aroma of the varietal have been identified. The aromatic compounds of Sauvignon Blanc are mostly located in the skin, so aromaticity of the wine is enhanced by skin contact. This means that clarification to the right degree is important: too much runs the risk of stuck fermentation and loss of aromaticity, but too much can give a wine with overly reduced characters. The aroma and flavor compounds that typify the wine are not present in the grapes as such, but exist as precursors. Strains of yeast vary significantly in their abilities to convert the precursors in the grapes into the aromatic compounds during vinification (most indigenous years are relatively poor at this). Dubourdieu isolated yeasts that release significantly greater proportions of active compounds from the precursors (an argument for using added rather than indigenous yeasts). Because the process is reductive, use of hyperoxidation or presence of copper abolishes aromaticity (so copper spraying needs to be limited before harvest and if possible confined to the leaves), and use of sulfur dioxide (to inhibit oxidases in the grapes) becomes more important. Sulfur dioxide must also be used to block malolactic fermentation, which detracts from varietal typicity. The reductive environment of aging on the lees helps to protect varietal typicity.
Viticulture of Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a vigorous varietal. The development of vegetal tones is enhanced by the formation of a heavy canopy that shades the grapes, which also may lose direct exposure to sunlight because of formation of the tight clusters that are typical of the varietal. Herbaceousness can be decreased by canopy management to ensure that there is sunlight on the bunches. It is also important to choose a clone that ripens fully in the climate and to choose less vigorous rootstocks and soils. Sauvignon Blanc reaches its most intense aromas just before optimum ripeness of sugar, calling for a compromise in the time of picking. It usually has good acidity.
Clones of Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc has small grapes with thick skins. It is susceptible to the fungal diseases of oidium and black rot. Clones have not generally been used to influence flavor or to control vigor, but there are now some clones that have reduced susceptibility to fungal diseases, and which offer more reliable yields from year to year.
The taste of Sauvignon Blanc
Development of Sauvignon Blanc
In all styles, varietally pure Sauvignon Blanc is best drunk in the first five years after the vintage. For this reason, taking longevity to be an important quality of a "classic" varietal, Jancis Robinson comments that its claim to classic status is least well established of those white grapes usually considered in this class.
| Volatile compounds responsible for Sauvignon Blanc aromas | ||
| Thiols | Threshold (ppb) | Range in wine |
| 4-MMP (4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-one) | 1 | 4-24 |
| 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (3-MHA) | 4 | 200-700 |
| 3-mercaptohexanol (3-MH) | 60 | 150-3500 |
| 4-mercapto-4-methyl-pentan-2-ol | 55 | 15-50 |
| Benzenemethanethiol | 0.3 | 5-20 |
| Pyrazine | ||
| 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine | 15 | 0.5-50 |
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