✔ Vinogrand variety of ovignon blan: history, geography, synonyms of the name of the variety. Read the article on Simplewine!

Between old and new light: all about ovignon Blanc

Master of Wine Sebastian Payne called Sovignon Blanc Jin Tonik of our time. Indeed, the variety is incredibly popular around the world. Perhaps that is why advanced distilleries look at him a little down. Many consider him not as noble as for, for example, Rining or Chardon. However, Master of Wine and expert on the variety of Rebecca Gibbs are sure that in Suvignon Blanc is real greatness.

Characteristics

Suvignon Blanc is a real “chameleon” among white varieties: its character is very different depending on the place of origin. New Zealand ovinions are famous for the aromas of green pepper, gooseberries and marakui, the Chilean are notable for citrus fruits, and French – dryness and mineralism.

The main aromas of the variety: gooseberries, black currants, grapefruit, lime, marakuya, freshly cut grass and green pepper. Herbal and plant aromas of Covignon Blanc are explained by the presence of pirazins, organic aromatic compounds. Pirazins are also found in some red varieties, such as Caburne of Suvignon, Cabernet Fran, Merlo and Carmener. Notes of Marakui and Grapefruit, and sometimes boxwood – the merit of thiols, another compounds developing during fermentation.

Story

Despite the fact that the name of the variety (Sauvignon – from the word Sauvage, wild) arose in Bordeaux, modern studies showed that the birthplace of Suvignon Blanc – the Loire Valley. The exact date of its birth is unknown, but at the end of the XVII century, the Suvignon has already been grown. This is indicated by the document found in the Monastery of St. Gall (the territory of the present Switzerland), – Muscatsylwaner is mentioned there, aka Suvignon Blanc. In 1783, Nicolas-Fransua Dupre de Saint-Mur published the Tables of the Synonyms of winemaking, which reports about the vineyards of Suvignon Blanc in the bourgeois and La-sarita. This is the first written certificate of the presence of the variety in the Loire.

By the way, before becoming Suvignon Blanc, the variety was called Firs and Suren (as Firs it is mentioned in the famous Rabelais novel, Gargantua and Pantagruel, published in the middle of the 16th century). As for the pedigree, one of the ancestors of Sovignon – Savanen Blanc, the oldest variety, which, as it recently turned out, was almost a thousand years old. And ovignon Blanc, together with Cabern Frane, in turn, became parents of the equally famous Cabernet of Suvignon.

Geography

France is the leader in the landing of the ovinon Blanc (35,000 hectares). It is followed by New Zealand (23,000 hectares) and Chile (14,000 hectares). The variety is also grown in the United States, South Africa, Italy, Spain and Germany.

France

Suvignon Blanc here prevails in the Loire Valley with its relatively cool climate and in warmer regions of Bordeaux.It is also actively grown in the South-West of France. However, the main territory of Sauvignon Blanc is still the Loire Valley, and Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are the most famous communes where the variety lives. It is here that the finest and most refined sauvignons are born, which are considered reference all over the world – look for Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé on the labels. In Sancerre, where white wines are made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc, fresh and citrus styles are obtained, moderately fruity and grassy with a mineral character. Sauvignons from Pouilly-Fume are distinguished by smoky siliceous minerality – fumé, by the way, is translated as smoke.

“Say sauvignon blanc and the first thing that comes to mind is New Zealand. This must have annoyed the winemakers of the Loire, who used the variety for several centuries until the New Zealanders took it up. But today it seems to me that this is not a problem for the French,” wrote The Guardian wine critic David Williams in a recent article “Renaissance of French Sauvignon Blanc”. New World producers make stylish and quality wines, but the highest class, according to Williams, is the prerogative of the Loire. “This is a classic style – cool, fresh, soft green. When I drink sanscerre, I imagine rocky riverbeds, not passion fruit and paprika, typical of New Zealand sauvignons from supermarket shelves, ”the critic noted.

Another key region in France for high-quality sauvignons is Bordeaux. Along with Semillon, Muscadelle and Uni Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc is included in the list of varieties allowed for the production of white Bordeaux wines. In addition to dry varieties, Bordeaux produces the famous dessert wines with aromas of marmalade, saffron and apricot – Sauternes and Barsac (mixing Sauvignon with Semillon and Muscadelle).

New Zealand

Sauvignon Blanc is a variety that has been holding a leading position in the country for 20 years. Planting areas today are 23,000 hectares, of which almost 21,000 hectares are in the Marlborough region (it was there that the first vines were planted in 1973). Wines from Marlborough are aromatic, with a characteristic gooseberry tone. However, Marlborough is not the only one. Sauvignons are produced in most regions of the country, be it Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa or Auckland.

“It's hard to resist the heady aromas of grapefruit, pineapple and lime zest, freshly cut grass and bell pepper, and even harder to forget them,” Picard admired New Zealand Sauvignons.

With Sauvignon Blanc, almost the same story happened here as with Carmenère – it was confused with another variety. In the 90s, ampelographers found that the grapes grown in Chile as sauvignon blanc, in fact, are not. It was about the independent variety Sauvignon Vert (aka Sauvignonasse or Friulano). Cuttings of the variety were brought to Chile from Bordeaux in the 19th century under the name Sauvignon Blanc. The leaves and berry clusters of both varieties are similar, which may explain this historical confusion. Wines from Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignonasse differ markedly in their qualities.The former are characterized by notes of ripe fruits (gooseberries and black currants), while the second is characterized by soft floral aromas.

After clarity was introduced, where Sovignon Blanc, and where the Suvignon, Chilean winemakers rely on a better known variety. As a result, the area of ​​the landing of the owinon Blanc has grown markedly, and the ovinonass was reduced.

“I am a big lover of agave drinks. Therefore, when meeting with the Chilean Sovignon, the blanks were struck by the aromas that I associate with Agawa – bright, fresh Lyme juice and stone salt, ”said Wine Spirits Magazine, Rachel del Rockco Terrazas. Indeed, the Chilean owls are not too grassy, ​​they pronounced fruit and citrus aromas (grapefruit, marakuya, lime).

Most of the vineyards of North America are not too suitable for Sovinion Blanc due to hot climate. Nevertheless, he found a place in California, as well as in Oregon and Washington. Today, Suvignon Blanc is one of the fifs of the most popular white varieties in California: its vineyards occupy 6,000 hectares. The first landings are dated to the end of the 19th century – several seedlings brought from Chateau d'Yquem, landed Charles Vetmore in the Livermore Valley. Over time, Sovignon has lost popularity, it was used exclusively for the production of California dessert wines. But in the late 1960s, the great winemaker Robert Mondavi gave the variety a new life, conducting a small rebranding. To remove excessive herbidity, he withstanding wine in oak barrels, and to combat a negative reputation of the variety sold it under a different name, Fumé Blanc. This name is used to this day, but not all winemakers.

Australia

The best Australian owls are born in the regions of Adelaide Hills and Margaret River. Samples from the first are bright, fragrant and fresh. As for Margaret River, the winemakers of the region produce wine in the range from fresh, lemon and grassy to more saturated and follow the traditions of Bordeaux, where ovignon Blanc is usually mixed with semilion.

However, the geography of Sovignon is not limited to these regions. In South Australia, the variety is grown in the McLaren and Carrence Valley, in the western – in the regions Pemberton and Djiographer. It is also worth noting samples from the valley of Yarra and Tasmania.