The best Sauvignon Blancs from the 2017 Global Masters

OAK INFLUENCE
As one might expect, the more highly priced Sauvignons from the competition had all seen varying degrees of oak influence, sometimes a subtle effect, perhaps more textural, from the use of oak in large formats, and at other times, more overt, where cream and vanilla were evident, presumably from ageing in a proportion of new oak barriques.

Among the Golds was a lovely example from Nederburg – the Young Airhawk – which represented a great entry point to a more food-friendly textural style of Sauvignon – priced between £10 and £15. But we were also excited to find a lovely wine from Turkey’s Aegean in the same price band. Over £15, the number of Golds awarded showed the quality potential of sensitive oak management with Sauvignon – and it was pleasing to see a range of regions featured, from Adelaide Hills to Columbia Valley, Wrattonbully, Sonoma, and Waipara.

Such diversity was similarly apparent at the top end, with samples over £20 gaining Golds hailing from Marlborough, Alto Adige and the Loire, while another Turkish wine came also came within a whisker of getting a Gold – the Quartz Fumé from Chamlija. Among the 100%- pure-oaked Sauvignons, it was notable to see that the Marlborough sub-region of Blind River was the source of a Master, as this particular terroir is becoming a hot spot for top-end examples, such as this flagship wine from Lawson’s Dry Hills.

As for the blends, it was thrilling to find out after the day’s tasting that one of the best wines in this category was from Greece, combining Sauvignon with Assyrtiko. The judges were also pleased to find a brilliant bargain example in the blended category, with the Domaine du Grand Mayne from south-west France picking up a Gold, despite its sub-£10 price point, while at higher prices, as in previous Sauvignon Masters tastings, Château Brown from Pessac-Léognan proved a benchmark for high quality, blended, barrel-aged Sauvignon. So, for those who think that Sauvignon is limited to creating youthful inexpensive whites, the Global Masters proved there is much more to this grape.

It can make a wide range of inexpensive wines, it can yield something bright or ripe, and it can be used to create blends and barrel-aged whites with complexity and longevity. Of course, some examples are better than others, and that’s why the Global Masters is so important – it seeks to identify the great from the good without prejudice.

In the case of Sauvignon, as this competition revealed, the best wines could hail from established regions for the grape, such as Graves, or surprise newcomers for this variety, such as Greece.

Over the following pages are the medallists from this year’s Sauvignon Blanc Masters, along with comments from the judges (who are pictured below).