SAUVIGNON BLANC
These 12 wines receive serious attention in the winery, resulting in refreshingly complex expressions of this variety.
2018 ALLANDALE SAUVIGNON BLANC Winemakers: Bill Sneddon & Alex Woods Region: Orange, NSW
Floral passionfruit dominates the nose, with kiwifruit, ripe lychee and nuances of fresh herbs following through to the palate with a clean, refreshing citrus finish.
How do you approach production of this sauvignon blanc?
We wanted to achieve something classically varietal. To accomplish this, we sourced fruit from a high-elevation vineyard in Orange and chose a specially selected aromatic yeast while fermentation occurred in stainless steel.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Bright natural acidity and a captivating floral bouquet makes for the perfect ‘drink now’ style, either as an accompaniment to food, or as an aperitif on a hot afternoon, preferably near a pool somewhere tropical. $22, allandalewinery.com.au @allandale_winery
2017 GEOFF WEAVER SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Geoff Weaver
Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Subtle aromas of pear and cut grass; nothing vegetal. A tightly structured yet generously flavoured wine with a supple, juicy mid-palate and a fine, savoury finish.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
It’s all about the vineyard. Low crops on balanced, dry-grown old vines at our high-altitude Lenswood vineyard. My aim is to retain the fresh, zingy natural fruit by hand picking and through the winemaking. There’s no winemaking artifice here.
What do you like to see in this wine?
A fresh, rich but not heavy wine, with no vegetal aromas. I want a subtle, complex and ageable wine that is a satisfying partner with food. The lively natural acid to balance is a key feature. This is a pure reflection of our Lenswood terroir.
$25, geoffweaver.com.au
2019 CHAIN OF PONDS BLACK THURSDAY SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Greg Clack Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Intensely aromatic and vibrant citrus, melon and guava are integrated with subtle passionfruit and fresh cucumber nuances to create a wine of balanced acidity and excellent fruit length.
How do you approach production of this sauvignon blanc?
We select blocks from vineyards throughout the Adelaide Hills, stretching almost 60km from Kuitpo to Birdwood. We aim to preserve the individual vineyard characteristics with gentle pressing, cool fermentation and varietal-enhancing yeast before subtle lees contact to build complexity and mouthfeel.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Our style is refined, targeting fruit purity with balanced citrus and melon flavours with hints of grassiness. Tropical notes support rather than overpower. Careful harvest decisions and attention to detail in juice preparation before ferment retains purity and delicacy. $20, chainofponds.com.au chainofponds
2018 GILBERT SAUVIGNON BLANC SUR LIE
Winemaker: Will Gilbert
Region: Orange, NSW
Pale straw in colour, with peach stone and grapefruit notes. It is textured, complex and spiced with a talc-like drive.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
Grapes are pressed direct to tank where the juice is left to settle for 10 to 12 hours, with no enzyme. The high-solid dirty juice is racked to barrel for fermentation with indigenous yeast. It then becomes more savoury and complex. Batonnage happens throughout fermentation, then stir weekly for 12 weeks on full lees. It spends nine months in oak, 20 per cent of which is new.
What do you like to see in this wine?
It’s all about texture and drive. Grown at 800m in Mt Canobolas, we harvest this fruit with great ripeness and cracking acidity, which complements our textured and savoury style with great drive and interest. $28, gilbertfamilywines.com.au @gilbertfamilywines
2018 DOWIE DOOLE ESTATE SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Chris Thomas
Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Notes of lime and passionfruit jump out of the glass, backed by subtle notes of gooseberries and cut grass. Citrus fruit leads into a zesty palate, the minerality and acidity give the wine great mouthfeel and length.
How do you approach production of this sauvignon blanc?
Only free-run and light pressings juice was retained, settled and racked before seeding with two yeasts, Vin 7 and QA 23, to undergo a cool, controlled fermentation. The use of two different yeast strains increases the complexity of flavours, and it is bottled early to maintain vibrance.
What do you like to see in this wine?
We demonstrate the variety’s elegant spectrum – characters of fresh snowpeas, cut grass and passionfruit, with a lingering, vibrant palate. It’s sourced from Norm Doole’s The Range Vineyard in the cooler Kuitpo sub-region of the Adelaide Hills. $20, dowiedoole.com @dowiedoole
2016 FLOWSTONE SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Stuart Pym
Region: Margaret River, WA
Expect ripe nectarines, guava and flinty highlights, with a lime zest finish. The palate has wonderful textures while retaining a juiciness of fruit and lightness. There is great intensity of fruit and fantastic length of flavour.
How do you approach production of this sauvignon blanc?
Grapes were hand harvested and wholefruit pressed to retain finesse and texture. Fermentation was in demi muids (600 litres). Following that, the wine stayed in these barrels for 11 months, with occasional lees stirring. It’s minimally fined and filtered, then bottled, resting for another18 months, and then released to be enjoyed .
What do you like to see in this wine?
My passion is for sauvignon blanc of subtlety, nuance, texture and sophistication, more in the mould of the Old World. This wine demonstrates just this, and I hope the discerning wine drinker can experience sauvignon blanc how it can be! $32, flowstonewines.com flowstone_wines
2018 MCKELLAR RIDGE SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemakers: John and Marina Sekoranja
Region: Canberra District, NSW
Tropical fruit aromas lead to a pineapple, white peach and lychee palate, with bold intensity and zest. It has a refreshingly crisp finish with exceptional length.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
We select premium hand-picked fruit from low-yielding vines, which is wholebunch air pressed and cold stainless-steel fermented before two weeks of stirring on lees for mid-palate complexity. Preservation of luscious tropical fruit aromas and flavours is paramount, and the result is delightful.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Late-harvest cool-climate fruit provides a delicious balance of ripe tropical fruit and a crisp, refreshing finish, creating an ideal complement to aromatic and spicy foods. This wine has been faithful from its humble beginnings – each sip takes us back to the vineyard. $25, mckellerridgewines.com.au @mckellarridgeestate
2017 TALTARNI FUMÉ BLANC
Winemaker: Robert Heywood
Region: Pyrenees and Tasmania
Lightly oaked with hints of stone fruit and tropical notes, this wine is aged on lees for over eight months with regular battonage. Textured and complex, it has a fresh, vibrant palate of guava and white peach, with a crisp acid line.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
Fermented at a low temperature and aged in 20 per cent new French oak for 12 months, this wine gets it style from the techniques we use rather than the variety. The Tasmanian fruit in this blend delivers crisp, clean acid and lovely herbal notes alongside the Pyrenees components providing volume and fruitfulness. It’s about creating layers of intrigue through winemaking techniques and delivering the entire terroir of the blend.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Complexity. Fume to us is about the journey of ageing on lees in oak to create a wine that delivers more than people usually expect from typical sauvignon blanc. $26, taltarni.com.au Instagram page: @taltarni
2018 SIDE WOOD ESTATE SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Darryl Catlin
Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Citrus and tropical aromas intertwined with delicate, crisp flavours of lychee, green apple, passionfruit and lemon peel. It is beautifully balanced with a lovely mid-palate roundness and a soft, lingering finish.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
The Mappinga vineyard provides pristinequality fruit that ripens with wonderful aromatics and tight acidity. Cold, long ferments allow the fruit to shine and tastes quite different across individual blocks.
This gives us complex and unique ‘building blocks’ to create a layered and exciting wine.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Balance and flavour should represent the unique vintage conditions. We strive for tropical fruits and citrus with crisp, clean acidity. Sauvignon need to be picked at the right time to capture the perfect balance. The more meticulous we are in the vineyard, the less intervention is required the winery. $20, sidewood.com.au, 95 points @sidewoodestate
2019 O’ LEARY WALKER SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemakers: David O’Leary and Nick Walker
Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
From its vibrant bouquet to a crisp, refreshing finish, this wine buzzes with textbook sauvignon blanc delicacy. Zippy and bright, its tropical flavours include gentle hints of gooseberry and passionfruit.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
The winemaking is all about the vineyard. For more than 18 years, we’ve produced this variety and have won numerous awards for best sauvignon blanc. We’re always striving for fruit purity and great flavour – our customers want character. A small portion was naturally fermented in French oak to add texture and length of flavour.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Our single vineyard in the cool climate region of the Adelaide Hills allows us to produce unique fruit characteristics, with passionfruit pith, tropical lychees on the bouquet and a fantastic palate, all wrapped up with a beautiful natural acid finish.
$25, olearywalkerwines.com @olearywalker
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2019 PERTARINGA SCARECROW SAUVIGNON BLANC
Owner: Geoff Hardy
Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
The nose offers refreshing aromas of tropical fruits and passionfruit. The palate is lively, bright and zippy with vibrant tropical fruit flavours accompanied by hints of zesty lime.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
About 14.5 per cent of the fruit is from old McLaren Vale vines, which is fermented on full solids, adding riper tropical notes to the higher acidity fruit from the cooler Adelaide Hills. It’s all fermented in 100 per cent stainless steel.
What do you like to see in this wine?
By adding fruit from the Lower Tintara vineyard in McLaren Vale, which was planted by the original Thomas Hardy and now owned by Geoff’s cousin, we aim to make a sauvignon blanc with a more complex mouthfeel that’s also extremely food-friendly.
$22, winesbygeoffhardy.com.au @winesbygeoffhardy
20 1 8 ZONTE’S FOOTSTEP EXCALIBUR SAUVIGNON BLANC
Winemaker: Brad Rey Region: Adelaide Hills, SA
Excalibur will surely impress with its white grapefruit zest, lemon curd notes and delicate citrus blossom aromas, as well as tart gooseberry flavours and mineral-like acidity.
How do you approach the production of this sauvignon blanc?
We simply put more time in the vineyard and less in the winery. It involves seed desiccation, picking early in the morning when acid is at its highest and flavours best expressed. And most importantly, we taste the fruit.
What do you like to see in this wine?
Line and length. For us it’s about palate persistence. It should cleanse the palate and refresh it for another freshly shucked oyster or mouthful of ripe blue-vein cheese, perhaps some gently poached butter and dill sole or just to quench your thirst on a warm evening.
$22, zontesfootstep.com.au @zontesfootstep