Who Overrates Sauvignon Blanc??

Here's an interesting rant against sauvignon blanc posted today by Slate wine columnist Mike Steinberger. Here, Steinberger, whose writing is as crisp as any good Sancerre, argues that there aren't any great sauvignon blancs.... "the grape is a dud," he says. "producing chirpy little wines wholly devoid of complexity and depth, the very qualities that make wine interesting and worth savoring. For years, this offensively inoffensive grape has escaped criticism while chardonnay and merlot have been scorned. The free ride ends here.
Then Steinberger goes on to offer alternatives to crappy boring bottles of sauvignon blanc. Here they are, many of them under $20 a bottle (for our purposes, cheers!)

(quote) So what, you might ask, would be preferable to drinking sauvignon blanc, particularly if you are on a budget? With most New Zealand, South African, and Californian sauvignon blancs selling for around $15 a bottle, and with most Sancerres and Pouilly-Fumés now fetching at least $20, there are scores of worthy alternatives. Take, for instance, the chardonnays from the Macon region of France (they aren't called chardonnays, of course, but instead go by names like Vire-Clesse, St.-Véran, Pouilly Fuissé, etc.). The wines of Daniel Barraud, André Bonhomme, Olivier Merlin, and Domaine Delaye all tend to run in the $15-$25 range and have substantially more depth and brio than most comparably priced sauvignon blancs. Ditto Domaine des Terres Dorées' Beaujolais blanc, which, at $10 a bottle, is truly a gift from Bacchus.

Loire Valley chenin blanc yields a number of elixirs: The Vouvrays of Domaine Huet are legendary; Huet's dry Vouvrays (called sec) sell for around $25-$35 a bottle and will encourage much more swilling and sniffing than any sauvignon blanc. (Sauvignon blanc is, at best, a lubricant to conversation; a good Vouvray is a conversation-stopper.) The basic Vouvrays from Domaines Pinon and Champalou can be had for $10-$15 and are usually delicious in their own right. South African chenins are also beginning to make some noise: De Trafford and Rudera are two names of note and go for around $15-$20 per bottle. (end long Steinberger quote!!!)

Here are my thoughts. I must admit that I've never drank sauvignon blanc for its complexity so it boggles my mind that anyone would expect as much from this wine. I simply find a good bottle refreshing on a warm day. I like its tickle on the tongue. I like the way it smells because I like the way grass and melon smell. I like it extra cold on hot days. I do like it for some of the same reasons I like ginger ale. It's light and refreshing. It IS unoffensive. (It's chardonnay light....like Miller Lite or Bud Lite, says my friend Christine, who is a fan) And that's ok, damn it! Besides, it's more fun to make fun of merlot, that largely wimpy tasteless red (with exceptions). Nonetheless, it can't hurt to print out this guy's recommendations for my next trip to Trader Joe's. Maybe then I won't stand like a dufus in front of the French wines for a good 15 minutes blocking the cash register line as I try to translate the labels.

April 18, 2006

Who Overrates Sauvignon Blanc??

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