Jacqueline rethinks Sauvignon Blanc

Jacqueline Friedrich is currently in the throes of completely updating her classic A Wine & Food Guide to the Loire for University of California Press, which was originally published back in 1996 It is easily the best book on Loire wines, although without detracting from Jacqueline's achievement there is shamefully little competition. The Wines of the Loire by Roger Voss (Faber & Faber) is a slight volume (a small advance didn’t allow for substantial research) and as it was published in 1992 is now hopelessly out-of-date. Even more outdated is James Seely’s anecdotal and patchy The Loire Valley and its Wines, published in 1989. The only other substantial book, apart from some wine touring guides, on Loire wines is Hubrecht Duijker’s excellent The Wines Of The Loire, Alsace and Champagne published as far back as 1981 – almost prehistory now! So Jacqueline’s new edition is certainly something to look forward to.

As part of her research Jacqueline has been tasting a lot of Sancerres recently and this has led her to reassess Loire Sauvignon Blanc.

‘First, I must admit that my feelings about Sauvignon Blanc as a grape variety have evolved – largely due to the Sancerres I’ve been tasting for the update of my Loire book. I basically wrote off Sauvignon as a very useful grape, one making an an easy wine to like and an easy one to understand but not a varietal that would really express pedigree, raciness, majesty. Added to that, I was underwhelmed by the overall quality of wines in the Sancerrois as well as the lack of dynamism and vitality as compared to the wines and the vignerons of Muscadet and Anjou.

After tasting hundreds of Sancerres – with more to come – for Loire 2, I have new respect for both the grape and the region. The quality of Sancerre wines has improved exponentially – and I know I’ll spend a great deal of time talking about it in the book. And my mind has been blown by the elegance, the beauty, the gravitas of more than a few of the Sancerres I’ve tasted. (The fact that a number of them become Wines of the Week testifies to that.)

As great as PC and GC Chablis, the wines they most remind me of. Look at a map and consider the soils and that’s no surprise. The two are practically kissing cousins.

The big difference is cépage. And what I find breathtaking about fine Chablis and fine Sancerre is that the grape fades to the background. Those simple, pungent varietal flavors that make Sauvignon blanc the first grape debutant tasters can recognise blind is replaced by a ripe, mellow yet fresh vinosity, a resilient support for achingly exquisite minerality, of stone, of tisane and citrus zests. These are wines that have their place alongside the best Chablis.’ (www.jacquelinefriedrich.com/bio.htm)

I agree with Jacqueline – Sauvignon Blanc is not my favourite white Loire variety. It has neither versatility, complexity, fascination nor the incredible ability to age for decades even centuries, that Chenin Blanc has. Professionally it is often a very tiring variety to taste: fatiguing your palate and making you crave for something else.

She is spot on that the Sancerres that are worth drinking completely transcend Sauvignon Blanc’s two-dimensional varietal character – at their worst the rank reek of cat’s pee with or without a gooseberry bush. The best Sancerres often have a thrilling minerality and precision of flavour found in many of the wines Sarah and I tasted in August. With age, as was the case with the Vacheron 1996 Les Romains with its honeyed complexity, the variety becomes almost undetectable blind. This is equally true for the best of the Sauvignons from the Cher Valley.

In contrast the Sauvignon Blancs that I tasted this week at the annual Wines of Chile tasting in London were rooted and confined by their varietal character.

Vineyards above the church of Thésee in the Cher Valley

I certainly recommend adding Jacqueline’s site to your favourites and, while you are doing this, to add Chris Kissack’s The Wine Doctor. Chris is an intensive care doctor in Edinburgh, so quite how he finds the time to update his site so regularly with such detailed and extensive postings is a considerable puzzle.

Jacqueline Friedich: The Wine Humanist:
www.jacquelinefriedrich.com
Chris Kissack: The Wine Doctor: www.thewinedoctor.com