Summer: A season for sauvignon
Sauvignon Blanc is one of South Africa’s most popular wines. Graham Howe tries some out
THE Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group — an association of leading wine producers — recently identified five styles of Sauvignon Blanc made in SA — green/herbaceous, tropical, flinty/mineral, wooded/barrelfermented and blackcurrant/elderberry.
Watch out for the winners of the fifth annual FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 Competition 2011 from 169 entries: Boschendal Reserve, Clos Malverne, David Niewoudt Ghost Corner, Delaire, Fleur du Cap, Franschhoek Cellar, Lutzville, Overhex, Thys Louw/wade Bales and Bergsig (Woolworths What label).
Altydgedacht Blanc 2011.
Sauvignon
This fifth generation family farm founded in 1698 in the Durbanville Wine Valley has one of the oldest working wine cellars in the Cape. The wine displays capsicum, tropical fruit and minerality on a leesy palate. Winemaker Etienne Louw says: “My best Sauvignon vintages here.”
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Bilton Matt Black Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
This new release from the landmark cellar in Stellenbosch’s golden triangle is a mélange of fresh kiwi fruit, crisp apples, passion fruit and floral flavours.
Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
Cellar-master Hermann Kirschbaum describes the 2011 vintage as very good for Sauvignon: a signature variety that shows classic cool-climate character every year in fleshy green, lime flavours and a fabulous flinty finish.
Clos Malverne Blanc 2011.
Sauvignon
This wine shows great complexity. Made in the tropical style with tangy pineapple and litchi highlights, it was kept on the lees for six months to give it a creamy, honeyed mouthfeel, spicy twist and lingering zesty finish.
Creation 2011.
Sauvignon
Blanc
A signature variety for the Walker Bay appellation finds great expression in the coolclimate vineyards in Hemel-enAarde Valley. On the spectacular tasting terrace in the mountains, winemaker JC Martin talked about the mineral core of a wine with elegant elderflower, tropical fruit and a flinty finish.
Delaire Coastal Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
This acclaimed winery is one of the Cape’s leading producers of Sauvignon, winning the Old Mutual Trophy in 2011 for this category and a place
This acclaimed limited release made from coolclimate vineyards in Darling and Cape Agulhas “expresses green pepper and gooseberry varietal character while the palate simply explodes with tropical and herbaceous flavours that just keep lingering” says delighted winemaker Pieter Badenhorst.
Iona Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
We recently tasted the first eleven vintages of Iona’s signature variety acclaimed by the world’s wine critics. Grown at 420m above sea level in Elgin in one of the coolest vineyards in the Cape, the new release shows herbal and floral nuances, green apple and lime marmalade flavours and steely minerality.
La Motte Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
The SA Winner of the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Awards for 2012 is the home of one of the biggest Cape Sauvignon Blanc blends, and cellar-master Edmund Terblanche has made 10 vintages of this best seller, an aperitif with tropical flavours and a crisp, gooseberry character.
Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
One of the key producers of Sauvignon Blanc is renowned for making about six varietal and blended Sauvignon/semillon versions that showcase the maritime terroir of Constantia vineyards. It has a signature mineral core, ruby grapefruit, asparagus and green pepper nuances and a racy finish.
Strandveld Sauvignon Blanc 2010.
This single vineyard wine made from grapes grown in the rocky coastal terroir of Elim near Cape Agulhas has won Veritas double gold and five stars in Platter’s SA Wines. Grown in a cool Atlantic climate it has white asparagus, nettle and capsicum nuances, racy minerality and creamy mouth feel.
Winters Drift Sauvignon Blanc 2010.
The maiden release from the old Molteno family apple farm in Elgin. A classic coolclimate wine, it shows delightful fresh-cut grass, crisp apple and flinty mineral flavours.