Articles / NewsSauvignon Blanc vs. Chardonnay
James Halliday, July 2, 2009My long-held suspicion that sauvignon blanc contains low doses of a hallucinogenic drug gained strength when I read an article by Jonathan Ray in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper under the heading ‘Is sauvignon blanc in danger of becoming like chardonnay?’, where he admitted that he mistook a South African sauvignon blanc for one from Marlborough.
In the course of ruminating over his desire that all sauvignon blancs should speak loud and clear about their place of birth, he poses the question of whether sauvignon blanc is in danger of becoming like chardonnay, ‘condemned to a dread uniformity’. He goes on to say ‘Many of us fell in love with sauvignon blanc while falling out of love with chardonnay. You remember that time when all chardonnays started to taste the same – blandly buttery with faint whiffs of vanilla. “ABC!” we shouted. “Anything But Chardonnay!”’
This is a breathtaking case of the pot calling the kettle black. It is clear the only chardonnays Jonathan Ray tastes or drinks are those selling for less than £5 in the UK market, at which price point it is reasonable to express a preference for sauvignon blanc over chardonnay where that preference is based on personality.
The great thing about quality chardonnay grown in an appropriate environment, whether that be Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Napa Valley, South America or France, is that it retains both its varietal integrity and sense of place, while allowing the winemaker a wide choice of winemaking techniques, which in turn reflect his or her personality.
Sauvignon blanc cannot and will not ever provide this latitude, and hence diversity.
In the course of ruminating over his desire that all sauvignon blancs should speak loud and clear about their place of birth, he poses the question of whether sauvignon blanc is in danger of becoming like chardonnay, ‘condemned to a dread uniformity’. He goes on to say ‘Many of us fell in love with sauvignon blanc while falling out of love with chardonnay. You remember that time when all chardonnays started to taste the same – blandly buttery with faint whiffs of vanilla. “ABC!” we shouted. “Anything But Chardonnay!”’
This is a breathtaking case of the pot calling the kettle black. It is clear the only chardonnays Jonathan Ray tastes or drinks are those selling for less than £5 in the UK market, at which price point it is reasonable to express a preference for sauvignon blanc over chardonnay where that preference is based on personality.
The great thing about quality chardonnay grown in an appropriate environment, whether that be Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Napa Valley, South America or France, is that it retains both its varietal integrity and sense of place, while allowing the winemaker a wide choice of winemaking techniques, which in turn reflect his or her personality.
Sauvignon blanc cannot and will not ever provide this latitude, and hence diversity.
