Sauvignon Blanc has been increasing in popularity and some experts are calling it the next hot wine. While I do believe Sauvignon Blanc deserves to become better known, what fascinates me is the way many of today’s most talented and daring winemakers are working toward a new interpretation. In this new style, it is sort of a marriage between the best of New Zealand Sauvignon and the best features of Lore Valley’s versions such as Sancerre and Pouilly–Fume.
But first, thanks to the boatloads of Sauvignon Blanc coming our way from New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc is now familiar to most wine drinkers. Some may not like the assertive style of New Zealand with its sharp green, herbal aroma and piercing acidity. But led by the ubiquitous Kim Crawford, Sauvignon Blanc is at least back in the game. So it is not surprising to see more and more Sauvignon Blancs from Chile joined by a few from Argentina, Australia and South Africa being positioned as less expensive and more appealing than under $20 Chardonnays and more flavorful than most supermarket Pinot Grigio.
While I do prefer widely available Sauvignon Blancs over the mass produced Chardonnays and sweet tinged supermarket Pinot Grigios, the most exciting trend is based upon a new style that emphasizes cool climate, site specific Sauvignon Blanc with some degree of what’s called “minerality.”
“Minerality” is now widely used and of course overdone, but it is definitely behind the new style of Sauvignon Blanc. Maybe it is just a cool word to use instead of smokey and flinty. That reminds me that Sauvignon Blanc was revived in California decades ago by going with the alternate name of Fume Blanc. But whatever is behind it, this new move toward a distinctive style, neither Kiwi nor Sancerre, is exciting. And the winemakers involved here on the West Coast are creative, risk takers willing to explore.
The following reviews which have been posted at winereviewonline.com best convey what I see as happening:
Cadre Wines Edna Valley, San Luis Obispo, “Stone Blossom” Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $22
With most of the fruit harvested from a Paragon Vineyard block planted in 1973, the wine was stainless fermented and aged on the lees. Once poured, this wine changes dramatically in the glass. It changes from flinty and green pea aroma and opens us to reveal secondary aromas of melon and white peach along with a wet stone kind of minerality. It offers plenty of vibrant flavors with mouth-coating texture, and it picks up lovely herbal and chalky nuances before finishing on a long, long crisp aftertaste.
Iterum Wines ‘Old Friend’ Oak Grove Vineyard, Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2021 $50
Veteran winemaker Joe Dobbes is focusing on small lot wines from special vineyards under the new Iterum label. This inaugural Sauvignon Blanc is from an old vineyard Dobbes has worked with since 1989. The wine is effusively aromatic and very much in line with top quality Sancerre. It combines chalky, wet stone aromas with lime, grapefruit and fresh cut green apple. But then it performs amazingly on the palate with a rich smooth texture and multi-layered flavors. In the finish it turns on the crisp acidity, lime and lemon peel notes that linger. Beautiful, long aftertaste. Technical details explain it did not undergo M-L, and was fermented 50% in stainless and 50% in Acacia barrels. It was then aged 7 months before bottling.
Padigan, Rogue Valley (Oregon) Sauvignon Blanc 2023 ($27)
Sauvignon Blanc from Oregon has been getting lots of media attention recently. Several wineries in Southern Oregon are key players, including Padigan. This 2023 is its 8th vintage and the 2023 growing season enabled Sauvignon to achieve full ripeness at a relatively low 22.5 brix. After the wild yeast fermentation, half of the wine was aged “sur lies” for 6 months in neutral oak. Bright, yellow-green in the glass, the wine quickly showcases lime, melon and flinty aromatics and the flavors add a layer of juicy ripe mango for added depth. The texture is rich and supple and the finish emphasizes ripe fruit and that flinty nuance. Probably best to enjoy within the next couple of years. From the winery estate vineyard. 227 cases produced.
Matzinger Davies Winery, Columbia Gorge (Oregon) Sauvignon Blanc “Gorgeous-Savvy” 2021 ($25): Once commonplace, “flinty” is rarely used these days to describe Sauvignon Blanc, but this wine reminded me that flinty can be an accurate descriptor for distinct versions. This version is made by veteran winemakers who seek out special vineyards. Anna Matzinger, now a consultant, served as winemaker and general manager for Archery Summit for 14 vintages. Michael Davies made wines for Rex Hill and A to Z wineries. This Sauvignon is from the Garnier Vineyard on the southern bank of the Columbia River. Winemaking notes include fermenting and aging in a combination of concrete egg, stainless steel, and cigar-shaped oak barrels. After primary fermentation, the wine was aged 6 months on light lees. Light in color, the nose of this wine is seriously flinty and herbaceous. Medium bodied, it offers flavors of mostly grassy fruit with a leesy texture. Brisk in the finish with hints of flint and minerality.
Verdad Wines, Ballard Canyon (Santa Barbara County, California) Sauvignon Blanc Rusack Vineyard 2023 ($35): 
Never heard of Cadre, Iterum, Matzinger Davies, Verdad or Padigan? Well hold on, the parade of new names is just forming.
Many of these new faces are making these daringly different Sauvignon Blancs from lesser known places such as Edna Valley and Rogue Valley. Add to that regions best known for other wines, specifically Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Santa Barbara and there’s much more awaiting us.
In my next post, we’ll look deeper at this new style of Sauvignon Blanc coming from Oregon.
From there we will move to the Central Coast and focus on the key players and the special vineyards they are working with.
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