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Sauvignon Blanc is a white wine grape variety whose spiritual home is western France, but which has successfully made its way into emerging and established wine regions all over the world. While the grape might be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux, where it was typically blended with Semillon – as it still is today. The late 20th century, however, saw the emergence of a new wine region vying for status as the Sauvignon Blanc region: Marlborough, in the South Island of New Zealand. The rapid development of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc phenomenon constitues one of the most dramatic changes ever seen in the wine world. The intense and readily accessible flavors offered by a classic Marlborough 'Savvy' (as it is informally known in that part of the world) have captured a vast market across the world, from the United States and Canada to the UK and northern Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2011, Marlborough produced roughly 65% of New Zealand's total wine output, and 75% of that was Sauvignon Blanc. Outside France and New Zealand the variety has proved relatively successful in New World regions such as California, Chile (particularly the Casablanca and San Antonio valleys) and South Africa, where some bottlings are truly world class. Even in Australia the variety can thrive in the cooler coastal areas of the south, and back in Europe, the cool, sunny sub-alpine slopes of Alto Adige and Friuli in northern Italy have proved well-suited to producing Sauvignon of very high quality. The key selling point of Sauvignon Blanc is its straightforwardness – the flavors are rarely hidden away in the background. Also, the correlation between the perceived flavors and their descriptors is one of the closest in the wine world, making Sauvignon Blanc a great wine with which to begin wine-tasting lessons. Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas range from grass, nettles, blackcurrant leaf and asparagus to green apples and gooseberries, and even to more esoteric notes such as cat's pee and gunflint. The latter of these is a tell-tale sign of a wine from Pouilly-Fume, where the flint flavor (known there as pierre a fusil) derives from the presence of high levels of chert in the local limestone soils. So pronounced and consistent is this effect that Sauvignon Blanc was once widely known as Blanc Fume in this part of the Loire. When combined with Semillon, as it is in most Bordeaux blanc, Sauvignon is found in some of the world's finest dry white wines. Although generally a minor component, Sauvignon also plays an important role alongside Semillon in Sauternes, the closest the variety gets to the top end of the wine spectrum. Since the 1970s this pairing has become the staple white blend in Australia's Margaret River region. (© All rights reserved, Wine-Searcher) A relatively robust, vigorous vine (one of the reasons it is so popular with viticulturalists), Sauvignon adapts readily to all kinds of growing environments. Its early ripening nature means it can be grown in relatively cool climates – its Loire homeland being the most obvious example - while its naturally high acidity allows it to retain some level of freshness in warmer areas. However, to achieve the true, forward 'zing' which best characterizes Sauvignon Blanc wine, a cooler terroir is required, ideally with persistent bright sunshine and a dry harvest period. Strange as it may seem, bright green Sauvignon Blanc has much in common with dark-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon – and not just the name and region of origin. The bell pepper and asparagus flavors detectable in wines of both types are down to the methoxypyrazine flavor compounds the two varieties share. Also, both varieties share in their vigor and generous yields, and tend to produce overly dense canopies in cooler climates. The two varieties are, in fact, genetically related; Sauvignon became the 'mother' of Cabernet Sauvignon after a natural crossing with Cabernet Franc in an 18th-century Bordeaux vineyard. Together, the parent and child have now become two of the most widely planted vine varieties in the world. Popular blends include: Sauvignon Blanc – Semillon, Bordeaux blend (white), Chardonnay – Sauvignon Blanc Synonyms include: Fume Blanc, Sauvignon Bianco, Muskat-Silvaner, Muskat-Sylyaner Related grape varieties include: Sauvignon Gris, Chenin Blanc, Traminer, Cabernet Sauvignon Food matches include:
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