Wine South Africa: Allee Bleue Sauvignon Blanc 2012

South Africa's Allée Bleue wine farm, nestled in the heart of South Africa's wine region has just announced our release of the Sauvignon Blanc 2012! Interestingly, the specific taste of each region's version of the Sauvignon Blanc differs slightly depending on the climate and soil conditions. Because South Africa is a country that is as diverse as the people it is home to, each farm's Sauvignon Blanc bears its own unique flavour, whether grassy, crisp or fruity. Van Zyl (Allee Bleue Winemaker) notes that the 2012 "Sweet tropical fruit invites you on the nose. This is followed by intense passion fruit aromas well supported by hints of green pepper and typical herbaseousness. The wine of South Africa palate is fresh and lively with loads of summer flavours and clean, crisp finish."

SAUVIGNON BLANC 2012

With its origin in the coastal district of Walker Bay area situated around 120km from Cape Town. The grapes were sourced from selected vineyards. Picked at optimal ripeness to ensure the freshness that Sauvignon is renowned for. The grapes were harvested at night and stored in a cool room until being sorted, crushed and pressed the following day. Lees rubbing of 4 days was done at 3°C to extract the delicate fruit flavours. The juice was racked and inoculated with yeast and cold fermented in tank until dry. The wine of South Africa was aged on the lees for 2 months before racking and sulphuring to ensure a silky aftertaste. Another 1 month of lees aging was done prior to bottling.

"It is believed that South Africa's advantage in producing the ideal Sauvignon Blanc lies in our ability to balance acidity and fruitiness in perfect ratio to one another." - Fiona Phillips Cyber Cellar.com 

Wine farmers frequently elect to pick Sauvignon Blanc grapes at different intervals in the season. This lends the end product a complex combination of flavours. The riper the grape, the sweeter it is. By combining these with the tarter, younger berries, the flavour is enhanced and balanced. When the berries are being gathered, oxygen is excluded to ensure that the flavour is kept inside the grape.

This reductive process is carried through right until the wine is bottled. The contact between the skin and the juice of the grape also needs to be monitored so that the flavours are controlled. If the contact between these two components of the grape is left for too long after picking, the wine becomes very intense. This reduces the aging ability of the wine significantly.

Even the temperature at which the Sauvignon Blanc is fermented impacts heavily on the resultant flavour. When fermentation is conducted under warmer conditions, the resulting wine has a grassier, earthy taste to it. Cooler temperatures bring out the fruity, tropical qualities of the wine. This wine is best enjoyed young!
Suggested Food paring: Light vegetarian pasta with fresh Allée Bleue herbs. Scallops in a fresh citrus jus topped with marinated orange peel.

 

"South African Sauvignon Blancs – The world’s most improved white wines" -Winetimes.co.za