CellarTales International Wineroundtable Edition No.7 Part II

To calibrate our palates for the tasting we started with a nice and refreshing Crémant from the Alsace region (thanks Angela & Ghislain). This sparkler with its straw-yellow, soft green-tinged color and mildly nose of peaches and biscuits has been a perfect supplement to our summer salad (rocket, apples, roasted almonds and hazelnuts, limes). In the mouth with a very strong foam and together with its bold and clear acidity and medium length aftertaste not saturating but a real “palate cleaning” appetizer for the following wines. An easy to drink, well made sparkler with a very good price-quality ratio.

Elim is a relative new, small wine region in the most southern extremety of Africa. Cool climate conditions and therefore a perfect place for mineral, grassy Sauvignon Blancs. Like this one here Soft yellow color with a bold green shine and right from the start a mouthwatering, racy bouquet.
Stinging nettles, green paprika, fresh chopped grass, some hints of flint stone and a decent dash of zests of limes. Beautifully this wine owns also a crystal clear acidity and together with a lot of green citrus fruit it “rolls” over your tongue stimulating even the last taste but until the very mineral, almost salty finish. Super grassy yet still with plenty of fruity sweetness and an animating minerality. A wine with ‘bite”. South Africa has a lot of different Sauvignon Blancs styles but for those who want to have the very fresh, green and racy version,this country is an El Dorado. Very tingly …

I mentioned already that there are several styles of Sauvignon Blanc in South Africa and frankly I really admire that because here everybody tries to give the wines at least something like a regional signature. So let’s come to another “Cape” interpretation of this variety. Again a very young, pale yellow color but this time not so green in the nose, simply riper with loads of yellow fruits like apples, mango and lychee’s All in all for sure the more serious, more staid wine with a rounder, smoother bouquet. Compared with the first one also the taste showed a very juicy but fuller Sauvignon Blanc without such a demanding acidity. A well balanced, fruity wine which offers already big drinking pleasure but also holds potential for further cellaring.

For me Springfield represents for Sauvignon Blanc what Beyerskloof represents for Pinotage : Sauvignon Blanc overkill !! It doesn’t matter if you get the “Firefinch”(entry level), the “Special Cuvée”(equilibrium & balance) or the “Life from Stone” (extreme). All of them are some of the most mineral, racy Sauvignon Blancs money can buy. Just the intensity differs a little bit. The actual one showed a soft greenish, light yellow color with a typical “Springfield” nose. Flintstones, green paprika, gooseberries and passion fruit beamed us up into SB-heaven. At the palate with almost too much minerality and a genius, snatching acidity, which sustained the wine’s impressive pressure, grabbed your tongue and didn’t want to let go again. In plus a soft CO2 play inforced the impression of an ultra fresh and crystal clean wine until the very long aftertaste. This continuity in high quality is very impressive and almost a little bit scary to me because how it seems the vintage doesn’t really matter. At least concerning their SB I haven’t had so far a “weaker” wine from this winery.

I am a big fan of Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire region, especially Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. But in recent years I experienced also a lot of disappointments and added to that are the prices often pretty fancy and without any relation to the offered wine quality. The present wine is therefor a good example. Distinctly more expensive then for example the South Africans but already pretty tired with a very restrained, old nose showing waxy scents and caramel Imaginative people could have also detected soft flavors of elder blossoms and overripe apples but with more time the wine became more and more exhausted. Also in the mouth very thin with bold wax flavors and somehow disjointed. Unnecessary to mention that something like an aftertaste has been almost inexistent. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect always a fruit bomb while drinking a Sauvignon Blanc. How I already mentioned there are different styles and that’s OK But beside a healthy color and a normal acidity this wine has been simply way too old for the age (I suspect atypical aging as a reason) and way too expensive for the quality.

Fortunately the second French representative did much better. Pale golden-yellow color with a green shine and a typical “Loire”- nose. Scents of Flintstones, stone fruits and some wet chalk formed together with spicy components like thyme and wet basil a very balanced and animating bouquet. After some more time also soft traces of honeycombs appeared. The taste then very complex with fruity flavors of elder berries, gooseberries and lychee’s paired with a lively acidity and a (for me) nice, soft chalky bitterness in the medium + finish. Who grants this wine some time in the glasses or in a carafe will be rewarded with a nice and complex “old school” Sauvignon Blanc. Mineral, juicy – yummy ! So, it works !!!

Another one of my all-time favorites Cloudy Bay started to produce Sauvignon Blanc in 1985 and has been jointly responsible for the establishment of the “New World Sauvignon Blanc”-style. For me most impressive is the fact that they stick to their philosophy and their style. Cloudy Bay means high-priced, ultra clean, pure and very elegant Sauvignon Blanc with a surprisingly high potential to age. These wines are never just loud, exaggerated or even vulgar but perfectly balanced and therefore genius companions for food. You may not win contests with such wines and also their high-tech production methods may irritate a couple of wine enthusiasts. But if over the years the results are constantly this high I can easily deal with that ! This 2010 confirmed once more the high expectations and showed again this flattering, clean and multi layered nose with a lot of yellow fruits like peaches, apricots underlined by crispy flavors of Granny Smith and fragments of white blossoms and wet stone. At the palate incredible tasty with an almost perfect balance between acidity, fruity sweetness, power, elegance and minerality until the yummy aftertaste. A multi layered, very complex wine I really would like to try after 15 years …

When I read about this wine for the first time it aroused immediately my curiosity. Limited quantities, well known producer and higher prices than Cloudy Bay ? Give it to me ! My suspicion already awoke by pouring the wine in the glasses. Very high viscosity and for a Sauvignon Blanc a pretty intense yellow color The nose confirmed what the eye already feared. Very bold wood and lactic flavors doubled by a lot of mango, pear and butterscotch (in a Sauvignon ????)– a real fat thing. Also the mouth feeling could just be described as hefty and clumsy. Too much flesh, too much sweetness, too much butter and as an offset to all of this too less acidity to balance the wine. The obvious burning taste in the long finish topped off this wine monster. Without intention we have had two completely different sides of the same region. On one side weightless elegance and dignity and on the other side brutal force and extremeness. Anyway. I also admit that I don’t understand the purpose and intention of such wines like this one here. Perhaps they are something for people which prefer to drink nothing else then (New World) Chardonnay but also want to have a “change” once in while. Maybe, but concerning prices for sure these people should be as pain-free as possible …

Defect … Bad bottle – bad luck !!

Cantina Terlan is small cooperative in Terlano and the “Quarz” is the flagship Sauvignon Blanc harvested from their oldest vineyards and fermented in stainless steel (60%) and 500 l wooden barrels (40%). In the beginning the wine is very closed and requires some air. Then it developed scents of pears, apple puree and shortbread together with hints of wood, nutmeg, caraway and cinnamon. A rather spicy Sauvignon Blanc but in this case the wood just sustained the wine and didn’t overpower it. With more time soft flavors of yeast and bacon increased the complexity of the wine’s bouquet. At the palate it showed a good pressure and a nice integrated acidity until the medium+ aftertaste with first waxy notes. A dense, vigorous, complex , handmade wine with an own signature and a lot of character. But the palate also showed undeniable first signs of age. Surprisingly early for this kind of wine.