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Wine for Spring

With spring having just arrived, I thought it fitting to find a wine to celebrate the season. I wanted a wine that would reflect this time of year’s crisp breezes, green lawns, budding flowers, and sunny days as well as its rainy ones. By this time, you’ve probably guessed that I don’t share T.S. Eliot’s view that "April is the cruelest month."

The first wine that came to mind for this feature was Sauvignon Blanc. This dry, crisp wine with its characteristic herbaceous, grassy nose was perfect. Its colors that range from faint chartreuse to pale straw to light brass intimate the season’s palate. Its flavors of citrus, vanilla, and melon can complement almost any spring menu.

Sauvignon Blanc is grown in many wine areas of the world. Interestingly, its grassy, herbaceous, and crisp characteristics are almost always present regardless of where it is grown. (The name "Sauvignon" is derived from the French "sauvage" meaning "wild.") In France, we find the grape in the aromatic and fresh Sancerres and Pouilly Fumes of the Loire Valley. Pouilly-Fume is the firmer, drier and more elegant of the two and Sancerre is a little more fruity. It’s also grown in Bordeaux, where it is often blended with Semillon. Here, the grape is used to produce the more austere, dry Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers as well as the flamboyant, decadent sweet Sauternes.

In Italy, Sauvignon Blanc can be found at its best in the Northeast’s Alto Adigio, Friuli, and Veneto. These Sauvignons share the grassy and herbaceous characteristics of their French counterparts and are quite quaffable.

Sauvignon Blanc is also popular among California wine makers, who often produce it under the name Fume Blanc. This alias was first used by Mondavi as a marketing tactic. Perhaps they thought it would have more appeal or would be easier to pronounce. Again, the California versions are quite similar to those produced in Europe--crisp, dry, and herbaceous, except that occasionally a little oak is introduced. This may be an influence from Bordeaux.

New Zealand is also a major producer of Sauvignon Blanc. Here the wine often tends to have undertones of tropical fruit—especially when made in Marlborough. The best example of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is Cloudy Bay, but it can be a little pricey.

In South America, Chile is also becoming known for its Sauvignon Blanc, especially from the Casablanca Valley. Here, as almost everywhere else, the wine is crisp and herbaceous, and quite often has a good acidity.

Sauvignon Blanc provides the perfect accompaniment for seafood, poultry and white meats. It also makes an excellent apéritif as well as a nice sipping wine for a lazy spring afternoon. When buying, look for recent vintages. Sauvignon Blanc typically does not improve with age. Because of its acidity, the wine should be served cold between 45° and 50° to be enjoyed at its best. To reach this temperature, give it about two hours in the refrigerator.

When tasting Sauvignon Blanc, look for a pale straw or brass color maybe with some hints of green. The nose should be full, with herbaceous, grassy, gooseberry aromas sometimes accompanied by vanilla, or tropical fruits. On the palate, expect refreshing flavors of citrus and herbs along with good acidity. If well made, the wine should also have a good finish. Even in its most elegant incarnation, Pouilly-Fume, this "wild" wine should not be wimpy.

For our tasting, we lined up nine examples of Sauvignon Blanc. We started with the European (Spain and France), moved on to Chile and New Zealand and then concluded with four wines form California. As is our custom, we first tasted the wines by themselves and then with food. For our meal, we prepared a simple pasta with shrimp, fresh tomatoes, peas, and cream.

One note of warning: most of our tasters, myself included, were suffering from the havoc that spring can wreak on allergies. Hmmm…now what did I say about April not being the cruelest month?

1998 Basa, White Wine, Rueda ($7.99)

Pale chartreuse in color, this Spanish Sauvignon Blanc from Rueda has a lush, beautiful nose of herbs, grass, and gooseberries. Smooth on entry, it's lemony and somewhat unctuous on the palate with some vegetal undertones. It also has a good finish. The wine went quite well with the pasta, but most tasters preferred it alone. At $7.99, this wine is a real bargain.

1997 Michel Lynch, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux ($8.99)

Pale gold in color, the wine has a nose of sultanas (white raisins). On the palate, the wine is dry and delivers a lot of flavor, mostly of melons and bitter almond. It also has a good finish, but we found that it did not stand up well with the food. Its flavors were lost. I'd recommend this as a perfect apéritif wine.

1997 Casa Lapostolle, Sauvignon Blanc, Rapel Valley ($7.99)

Pale yellow with a big, sweet nose of honey and herbs, this wine from Chile makes a bold entry. On the palate, it has good body with plenty of vanilla flavor along with some lemon. It also has good acidity and a more than adequate finish. This wine, perhaps because of its acidity, went especially well with the food. Chile once had a bad reputation for its Sauvignon Blanc, but largely because of wines of this caliber, it's getting another look.

1997 Cailbourdin, Pouilly-Fume "Les Cris", ($16.99)

Pale straw in color with a subtle floral, peach nose, this wine is a fine example of the elegance of Pouilly-Fume. On the palate, it's dry with flavors of herbs and minerals. It also has an adequate finish. I would recommend this wine as an accompaniment for grilled shrimp or a simple roast chicken.

1997 Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc "Private Bin", Marlborough ($9.99)

Light gold in color, the wine has a big nose of tropical fruit (reminiscent of violets) with an underpinning of herbs. It's a nose that according to one taster "makes you smile." It has a steely entry with good acidity. Its flavors are very dry, grapefruit like and citrusy. It also a good finish. This wine was one of the best with the food. If you've never had a New Zealand wine, I'd recommend you start with this one.

1996 Robert Mondavi, Fume Blanc, Napa Valley ($13.99)

Pale straw in color with a buttery and grassy nose, this is a textbook California Sauvignon Blanc. It's full bodied and full of flavor. Quite forward on the palate, its flavor, albeit monochromatic, is predominantly citrus. It also has a nice acidity and a good finish. Most enjoyable and good with the pasta.

1997 Lava Cap, Fume Blanc, Eldorado ($10.99)

Pale straw in color, this wine has a tom cat sort of nose or maybe just one of wet leaves. On the palate it's forward with good flavor predominantly of melon. The wine's not complex but has plenty of body and a nice finish. One taster found it "soothing" and said it "gives you a sense of well being." This was one of the best wines with the pasta.

1997 Murphy-Goode, Reserve Fume, Alexander Valley ($14.99)

Light gold in color with a big herbaceous nose, this has always been one of my favorite California Sauvignon Blancs. The wine has a smooth entry and is crisp on the palate. It's full bodied with flavors of citrus, vanilla, and just a hint of oak. It also has a good finish. This wine was outstanding with the food.

1997 Beringer Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley ($12.99)

Pale straw in color, the wine has an herbaceous nose with an underpinning of vanilla. It's forward on the entry with flavors of vanilla and some citrus. The wine has good acidity and a good finish. This was another winner with the food.

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