Events

All sides of Sauvignon Blanc
«Magnum» №9(11) 2006

The Austrian wine fair Vievinum has a good tradition.

Each time is features a comparative international tasting dedicated to one variety. The last event was all about Sauvignon Blanc.

A large Sauvignon Blanc tasting suited the spirit of the time. New market trends state that consumers show higher interest to varieties with expressive character — Sauvignon Blanc wines meet the requirements.

Expectations were predictable, with leadership of well known production zones — Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, Bordeaux, New Zealand and South Africa. No one thought that the majority of top ratings will go to Austria. (To do the justice, the tasting was organised by neutral Swedish wine merchant Mr. Paulson who chose samples and processed results).

Out of 49 wines 19 were Austrian, 9 — French, 7 — from New Zealand, 5 each from South Africa and Italy, 2 — from Australia and one each from Chile and the US. Although the number of Austrian samples was higher than from other countries, total share of traditional regions (France, New Zealand, South AFrica) was more than that of Austria.

The wines were rated by a 100 point scale. A representative international panel of tasters consisted of journalists, critics and wine professionals. The tasters knew of the vintages, wines were served in flights from the younger to the older. The wines were of recent vintages (20 from 2005, 15 — 2004, the rest were 2000-2003).

An Austrian Sauvignon Blanc made by Andy Kollwentz deserved its victory. A superb Burgenland producer has always based his philosophy on terroir wines. His vineyards, including Steinmuhle, are situated on historic plots which have long proved their identity.

The other Austrian wines are made in Styria. A year ago I visited this picturesque winemaking region that lies in the foothills of the Alps and left convinced that Styria is able to produce high quality white wines, especially of Sauvignon Blanc. Styrian wines have a profile, typified by ripe gooseberry flavours and easily make up own category in the same manner like Sauvignons from the Loire Valley or from New Zealand.

And by the way, about New Zealand. Statistically, its wines had the greatest triumph. The top ten included 4 out of 7, or 57% of all samples — the highest figure among all countries. Young New Zealand Sauvingons continue to be favourite with the public and win with clean, expressive aromas and flavours backed by high quality.

France’s defeat can be explained by a number of reasons. Despite participation of grands, such as Didier Dagueneau, Chateau Margaux Pavillon Blanc and Domaine de Chevalier, half of samples had several years of aging that weakened expression of the variety. If you look at general results, only one ‘old’ wine got into top ten. This again proves a theory that we prefer young Sauvignon Blanc with its bright aromatic profile. The other problem with France most likely concluded from the first one — some samples were more or less oxidated, and it was reflected in the marks.

The personal favourites were Palliser Estate 2005 (New Zealand) and Polz Hochgrassnitzberg 2004 (Austria), with 94 points for each. Palliser Estate is considered one of the best Sauvignon specialists. Last year I called brothers Erich and Walter Polz ‘kings’ of Sauvignon in the Southern Styria. Not a bad choice, I believe.

94,1 Kollwentz Steinmuhle 2004, Austria
93,9 Palliser Estate 2005, New Zealand
93,2 Saint Clair Block 3 2005, New Zealand
93,0 Henri Bourgeois Pouilly Fume La Demoiselle de Bourgeois 2004, France
92,9 Andreas Tscheppe 2004, Austria
92,7 Dog Point Martinborough 2005, New Zealand
92,6 Cloudy Bay 2005, New Zealand
92,5 Neumeister Moarfeitl 2001, Austria
92,5 Polz Hochgrassnitzberg 2004, Austria
92,5 Lachner-Tinnacher Steinbach 2005, Austria
92,5 Sattlerhof Sernauberg 2005, Austria