Celebrating Sauvignon

It’s one of the most popular and widely planted white grape varieties – and with good reason, says Rebecca Gibb MW in her round-the-world guide to Sauvignon Blanc.

- Rebecca Gibb MW

It’s Israel’s most-planted white grape and has been recommended as a cure for constipation in the past, but that’s not what has put Sauvignon Blanc in the number 11 spot in the world’s most planted stakes. The stereotypical party-in-a glass style, celebrating all things fresh and fruity, has made it one of the world’s most popular white grape varieties, and yet it is often treated with disdain by its makers and vendors. In Australia and New Zealand, a number of producers whose livelihood relies on the success of this grape have disparaged it as ‘bitch diesel’, and that is a disservice to a variety that is able to express its place and attain finesse when treated with respect.

Humble beginnings

Sauvignon Blanc’s roots can be traced back to the Loire Valley. In 1534, Chinon-born mathematician and writer François Rabelais mentioned it under the synonym Fiers, suggesting it was good for those experiencing slow bowel movements. However, it was another 200-odd years before any mention of it was made in Sancerre or Pouilly-sur-Loire, the two villages that are now synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc greatness. Before that, Pinot Noir was king in Sancerre, while Pouilly growers churned out Chasselas for the Parisian fruit market until phylloxera marched through the area’s vineyards. Even so, Sauvignon’s future still wasn’t assured: in the immediate aftermath of phylloxera, lowly hybrids were popular. Yet, in the past century, this aromatic variety has slowly tightened its grip on the lands of the Central Loire Valley, where it has revealed its rightness and righteousness.