Sauvignon Blanc – tasting three different styles today:
– the Marlborough “Golden Mile” Sauvignon Blanc, by Georges Michel
– the Groenekloof Sauvignon Blanc from the Western Cape, South Africa, by Neil Ellis, and
– the Sancerre, by Paul Doucet.
A wonderful experience. The three wines show quite different characteristics, thus showing the great variety in styles that Sauvignon Blanc permits to achieve.
Marlborough
The 2022 Golden Mile Sauvignon Blanc by Georges Michel shows a pale lemon color. The clean nose boasts aromas that are very typical for a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Asparagus and grassy aromas (“capsicum”) are pronounced, along with passion fruit, gooseberry and lemon. Notes of elderflower and a hint of wet stone and brioche round of the olfactory experience. On the palate, the wine is dry, with medium acidity, medium alcohol and medium body. It shows medium + intensity of flavours of gooseberry, asparagus, passion fruit, minerality and a hint of bread. The medium + finish is pleasant. A very good, typical – “text book” – Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. TBM 91 points.
South Africa
The 2022 Groenekloof Sauvignon Blanc has a pale lemon color. It boasts aromas of gooseberry, passion fruit, herbal notes, lemon, pear, green apple. A note of wet stone and brioche completes the olfactory sensation. On the palate, the wine is dry, with high acidity, medium alcohol and medium body. Medium intensity of flavours show gooseberry, green apple, lemon, passion fruit, rounded off with some minerality and brioche notes. The wine has a medium finish. A pleasant Sauvignon Blanc, less bold than the Marlborough one, with a good complexity and fine balance between flavours, acidity and alcohol. It lacks a bit of length to be considered outstanding. TBM 89 points.
Sancerre
The 2023 Sancerre by Paul Doucet is a beautiful wine. Pale lemon color, its clean nose shows medium + intensity aromas of lemon, melon, pear, green apple. A hint of asparagus, notes of wet stone and brioche complete the olfactory experience. On the palate, the wine is dry, with crisp, medium + acidity, medium alcohol and medium body. Its medium intensity flavours show lemon, melon, pear, a hint of asparagus, minerality and brioche. Overall, a fine, subtle version of Sauvignon Blanc, elegant and pleasant. I’d call it a “text book” Sancerre. TBM 92 points.
