Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, New Zealand)

When a serious, yet value-conscious white wine drinker thinks Sauvignon Blanc, they often go looking for wines from New Zealand. And, within New Zealand, while many don't realize it, they are typically drinking from Marlborough. So, let's go there to taste Sauvignon Blanc.

Getting from yesterday's tasting on the outskirts of Chisinau, Moldova to the Marlborough District in the northeast corner of the south island of New Zealand is not going to be easy. Thankfully, as the airlines are taking the older planes out of the sky, we were fortunate enough to be able to charter a 747-8i for our long travel as commercially this trip would take seemingly forever. Even so, we needed to refuel once along the way. Landing in Auckland on the north island, we then grabbed a business jet to fly into little Renwick Airport on the south island. 

Exiting our plane in mid-summer, the first thing we noticed was the weather. For this time of year, it was quite cool and dry, a bit breezy, and the sunshine was bright. In fact, the temperature here for almost the entire year seems to vary in the ranges of about 5-20C/41-68F. 

This climate is going to be critically important to us in understanding what makes Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough District so unique. But, before we get into the details of that, let's think about the grape. On the palate, it has a natural grapefruit element to it. The other element that you get sometimes, but notably not in Sauvignon Blanc grown in particularly warm climates is an element of greenness. What's going on here?

Sauvignon Blanc, in its natural state is loaded up with methoxypyrazine or pyrazines as it is known in the wine world. What else is? Bell pepper. Jalapeno peppers. Many particularly green grasses found in more continental climates (cooler rather than warmer). What isn't? Tropical fruit like mango, pineapple, passion fruit, and papaya. 

Back in the lab, if we were to experiement with methoxypyrazine, we would find that as it warms, it destabilizes. I could look up temperatures where that happens in its pure state, but when found in Sauvignon Blanc, that seems to happen at around 18-20C/64-68F. So, once the temperature passes that point, the greenness and the grapefruityness (I know that's not really a word, but I'm using it anyway) gradually dissipate and are replaced by more tropical flavors. That is why Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is so distinctively grapefruity and green.

We interrupt this voyage for a technical note that might be of interest. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (the offspring of parents Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc) also have lots of pyrzaines. So, if you are a fan of the bell pepper notes in your red wines, choose them from cooler climates or cooler vintages. If you hate the bell pepper, choose warmer growing regions and warmer vintages. And, if you are bothered by the effects of the pyrazines in Sauvignon Blanc, but like the grape generally, look for white blends that incorporate Semillon with the Sauvignon Blanc. Now, back to tasting.

The soil here is not particularly fertile. It's stony and sandy providing for wonderful natural drainage, so the vines are starved looking for water. [Note that when you want more herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc, you need more fertile soil.]

While we haven't yet specifically described the notes of these wines as we would tasting notes, in a sense we have. They are, even more so that most any other Sauvignon Blanc you will find, loaded with grapefruit and green notes. Variations are due to soil and temperature differences.

Because of the racy acidity in these wines, serve them cooler than most others. While I abhor white wines served too cold, I really don't have a problem serving these at around 6-7C/43-45F. The flavorful notes still come though, but the acidity is calmed somewhat. Serve them with green salads, lighter fish, and most vegetable. In particular, when you think of highly acidic, wine-killing vegetable like asparagus and brussels sprouts, these might be your go-to wines.