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*Northwest Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc
Northwest Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon
Blanc |
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About
Chenin Blanc
by Jim LaMar
Chenin blanc is arguably the most versatile of all wine grape varieties.
Crisp, dry table wines, light sparkling wines, long-lived, unctuous,
nectar-like dessert wines, and even brandy are all produced in various
areas of the wine world, all of chenin blanc. It might even be said that chenin blanc is France's most successful
export variety, if only considering the vine rather than the wine. Although
the native region for chenin is the Loire Valley (where the grape is
often called Pineau de la Loire), there is less planted in all of France
than in most wine-producing countries of the New World. It is planted
as Pinot Blanco in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Argentina, where there
are over 10,000 acres of chenin blanc. Nearly a third of vines in South
Africa are chenin blanc, where it is also called Steen. In California,
it is the third most widely planted white wine grape. Australia has close
to 1,500 acres and New Zealand 500.
Resistance to many diseases, vine vigor, and the
tendency to early bud break and late ripening suits chenin blanc to grow
in climates too warm
for many vinifera types. The vine grows well in many soil types and can
be very vigorous in either sandy loam or clay loam. Production is fairly
consistent at from five to eight tons per acre. At three or four years
old, the vines tend to overproduce and may set crops too large to fully
ripen in the coolest areas. Chenin blanc grapes are susceptible to both
bunch rot and sun burn.
In spite of its wide plantings and potential flavor
palates, most chenin blanc is made into serviceable, but generally
bland wine. A general tendency
to over-irrigate and overcrop further reduce most Chenin Blanc to the
forgettable. Careful viticultural practices easily overcome chenin
blanc's weaknesses and can result in excellent wine. Nearly all the truly memorable Chenin Blancs
are French, from Saumur and Savennières (dry), Anjou and Vouvray
(off-dry), Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume (dessert), and Crémant
de Loire (sparkling). No matter the style, a certain floral, honeyed
character, along with
zesty acidity are the sensory trademarks of well-made Chenin Blanc. When
conditions are right, Botrytis cinerea adds additional complexity and
intensity.
The most frequently encountered (but not exclusive) smell and/or flavor
elements found in Chenin Blanc-based wines include:
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Chenin Blanc Smell
and/or Flavor Elements
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Varietal Aromas/Flavors:
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Processing Bouquets/Flavors:
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Floral: honey, honeysuckle
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.
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Fruity: quince, melon,
esp. Honeydew, cantaloupe
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Wood: vanilla, sweet
wood, oak (not usually)
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Aggressive: iodine, "gym
socks"
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Mineral: flint, smoke
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Herbal: grass, hay
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.
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Jim LaMar is editor
of Professional Friends of Wine, instructs Introductory Sensory Evaluation
of Wine at California State University, Fresno, and has been drinking,
thinking, teaching and writing about wine for 30 years. He is a member
of Professional Friends of Wine.
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About Sauvignon Blanc
by Jim LaMar
Charles Wetmore, founder of Cresta Blanca winery,
brought the first cuttings of Sauvignon Blanc to California in the 1880s.
Some came from the vineyards
of the legendary Sauternes Chateau Y'Quem, world's most expensive and famous
dessert wine. These plantings did well in the Livermore Valley and Sauvignon
Blanc became one of the early favorite dry whites from California. Eventually,
Sauvignon Blanc became a varietal with an alias in California, where it
is now often known and labeled as "Fumé Blanc".
For many years, California wineries made wine from Sauvignon Blanc grapes,
but there was almost no consistency of style: some made bone-dry wines
after the fashion of the French in the Graves and Loire regions, while
others chose to make very sweet, dessert-style wines after the Sauternes
and Barsacs.
Robert Mondavi deserves credit for this renaming
of this varietal to distinguish the style it is made in. Mondavi made
a sweet style from the 1966 and '67
vintages, labeling their wine "Sauvignon Blanc", but changed
to a dry version in 1968. To denote the change to their customers, they
came up with the "Fumé Blanc" name after Pouilly-Fumé,
one of the most popular dry-style Loire Valley versions. Rather than copyrighting
or trademarking the name, Mondavi offered to allow anyone to use the Fumé Blanc
name to market a dry-style Sauvignon Blanc. Note that the term is only
used on American wines.
"Fumé" literally translates to "smoke," but
this has nothing to do with a "smoky" flavor in the wine, although
that is a popular notion. It instead refers to the morning fog that covers
the Loire Valley and is "as thick as smoke." Any smoke-like smells
or flavors in Sauvignon Blanc probably arise from aging in toasted oak
barrels and are definitely not due to any inherent character of this grape
variety.
The varietal identity of Sauvignon Blanc is
typically closer to grass, bell-pepper, or grapefruit in nature. It can
often even pick up an aggressive "catbox" odor
when lacking sun exposure or harvested underripe. Clonal selection and
viticultural practices that expose the grapes to more sunlight yield wine
that is more melon-like in aroma. Development of hardier clones has helped
production levels, which were irregular in humid climates, due to this
variety's propensity to develop "powdery mildew" and "black
rot".
Sauvignon Blanc vines tend to be quite vigorous growers, so it is especially
important to manage the canopy by careful pruning and even by thinning
leaves and shoots to direct the plant's energy towards ripening the fruit.
Unrestrained growth and over-cropping result in neutral-tasting wines of
little interest.
Barrel-fermentation, although not commonly used for this variety when
compared to Chardonnay, can also modify the Sauvignon Blanc aroma and add
complexities. Blending Sauvignon Blanc with Semillon is a common practice
that can add richness and an extra element of figs to the aroma, softening
the sometimes abrasive Sauvignon Blanc character.
This blending is widespread in the Graves district
of France's Bordeaux region (normally 75-85% Sauvignon Blanc to 15-25%
Semillon). In the communes
of Sauternes and Barsac, a blend of 60-70% Semillon with 30-40% Sauvignon
Blanc is more typical. When allowed to hang, past the normal ripeness point
for dry table wine, the grape flavors may be concentrated by the influence
of a naturally-occurring mold known as "Noble Rot" (Botrytis
cinerea), to make the area's famous dessert wines.
Loire Valley wines made from Sauvignon Blanc,
such as Pouilly Fumé and
Sancerre, are most often 100% Sauvignon Blanc, unblended and usually made
without the use of oak.
In light of these French traditional methods,
the California practices then become somewhat ironic. California producers
tend to use the Loire-derived
Fumé Blanc name and bottle shape for their blended and oak-aged
wines (more like the Bordelais). Meanwhile, the California Sauvignon Blancs
that are 100% varietal and most likely without oak in fermentation or aging
(distinctly Loire-like practices), are most often bottled in Bordeaux-style
bottles!
There are wineries who make their Sauvignon
Blanc in a dry-style but do not use the "Fumé" name. On the other hand, are there
are no regulations limiting the use of "Fumé" to dry wines.
This unfortunate inconsistency can be confusing for the consuming public.
The American wine industry would probably be best off to adapt some specific
guidelines.
Besides France and California, Sauvignon Blanc also is produced successfully
by New Zealand and South Africa (excellent in both), Chile, Argentina,
and, to lesser degrees of production, Washington State, Australia, and
Italy, where it is expanding. With fairly good tonnage per acre and lacking
the inflationary consumer demand of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc is often
a very good value.
Sauvignon Blanc is usually quite distinctive and one of the easier varietal
wines to recognize by its often sharp, aggressive smell. The most common
(but not exclusive) smell and/or flavor elements found in sauvignon blanc-based
wines include:
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Sauvignon Blanc Smell and/or
Flavor Elements
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Varietal Aromas/Flavors:
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Processing Bouquets/Flavors:
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Herbaceous: grass, weeds,
lemon-grass, gooseberry
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vanilla, sweet wood
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Vegetal: bell pepper,
green olive, asparagus, capsicum
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butter, cream
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Fruity: grapefruit, lime,
melon
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oak, smoke, toast
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Aggressive: mineral, "catbox"
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flint
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With naturally high acidity, Sauvignon Blanc is always tangy, tart, nervy,
racy, or zesty, and this character pervades even sweet and dessert versions,
keeping them from being cloying and sticky-tasting.
Dry-style Sauvignon or Fumé Blancs are
very versatile in accompanying foods and can handle components such as
tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro,
raw garlic, smoked cheeses or other pungent flavors that would clash with
or overpower many Chardonnays and almost all other dry whites. In fact,
Sauvignon Blanc is probably the best dry white wine to accompany the greatest
variety of foods.
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