Drink Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc before you die! Why?
No other Sauvignon Blanc on the planet tastes as much like Sauvignon Blanc as Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Marlborough region… and that’s a scientific fact!
Sauvignon Blanc may be from France’s Loire Valley but, these days, Marlborough is the benchmark for this crisp, herbaceously pungent variety. In Marlborough, all the dials are turned up but are somehow kept in check. The assertive grassy aromatics are tempered with extravagantly ripe tropical fruit. The razor-sharp acid mellowed by a slippery smooth mouthfeel. Winemakers from all around the world—Chile, Australia, South Africa and even France—have tried to emulate this style. But, none have quite got there. And, they probably never will.
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| The long straight rows of a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc vineyard | © bucketlist.wine |
Why? The answer is in Jamie Goode’s book The Science of Sauvignon Blanc. There’s a few key compounds that give Sauvignon Blanc its particular aroma and flavour. However, it turns out that, on average, Sauvignon Blanc grown in Marlborough consistently has much, much more of these compounds than the Sauvignon Blanc grown in other regions around the World. Viticulture and winemaking practices common in Marlborough do play a role by encouraging the production of and preservation of these varietal aromatic compounds. For example, machine harvesting and long cool fermentations. And, these practices can be emulated to produce something similar to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. But, not quite to the same level.
Marlborough’s distinctive Sauvignon Blanc is most likely due to a function of macro and micro climatic conditions. For example higher levels of UV light (the hole in the ozone layer is right above New Zealand!), low but consistent rainfall, free draining alluvial soils, and warm sunny days followed by crisp cold nights.
Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc started taking the world by storm in 1980s and is yet to slow down! The Sauvilanche continues!