Adelaide Hills, SA Sauvignon Blanc Wines

It’s often thought of as being best when fresh, but quality Sauv Blanc can definitely age. Many producers prefer their SBs at 12 months of age as they have settled into themselves somewhat. Here’s a challenge, grab a 6 pack of a properly good SB – like the Knappstein Riposte and drink one a year. You might just be blown away.

Pretty much... it can be made into anything – sparkling, sweeter late harvest styles, even white fortified wine – but mostly it is fermented dry.

Sauvignon Blanc is a grape originating in the Bordeaux region of France which makes crisp and herbal dry white wines in moderate to cool climates. It also makes awesome sweet wines, like Sauternes. Most SB is unoaked, but many of the wines made in Sancerre are matured in barrel. The oak aging can add lemon curd aromas and brioche flavours to the wine. Outside of France, a lot of SB is produced in Chile, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

Generally, Sauvignon Blanc is not aged in oak and Chardonnay is. Chardonnay appears in a lot more places too, being a bit more widely adaptable, climate-wise, than Sauv Blanc. Like Sauv Blanc, it comes from France, specifically Burgundy, and the Burgundian beauties are among some of the most highly prized and expensive white wines in the world. Chardonnay is not as aromatic as Sauv Blanc but can make an incredibly broad array of styles; from the lean, crisp, minerally wines of Chablis, through to complex, powerful, rich and age worthy wines from Burgundy. Sauvignon Blanc tends not to be put through malolactic fermentation in order to preserve its aromatics. Chardy generally needs malo to enhance texture and build flavour and complexity.

Sauv Blanc aromas and flavours: cat wee (yes!?), passionfruit, citrus, snow pea, herbs, peach, jalapeno, cut grass, grapefruit, melon, gooseberries, capsicum.

Chardy aromas and flavours: butter, creaminess, hazelnut, struck match, lemon, apple, pineapple, papaya, fig, chalky minerality, lemon zest, baking spices, vanilla, pear, passionfruit, salinity, brioche, dill, crème brulee, honeysuckle, white blossoms, almond.

Chardonnay is also one of the most widely grown and highly prized varieties used in the production of Champagne.

Neither - in theory most PGs and SBs will be fermented dry, so there’s no difference in the sugar level. Some might argue that PG’s flavour profile sometime makes is seem marginally sweeter though.