From the Loire to Italy, a Grape with Many Faces
by Jane Augustine
Peter Dipoli’s vineyards on the steep slopes of the Dolomites
© Gail Skoff
Hippolyte Reverdy’s vineyards in the Loire
© Gail Skoff
Régis Minet’s love of his native terroir translates into his wines
© Gail Skoff
Domaine Trotereau’s Pierre Ragon
© Gail Skoff
© Hervé Dubourdieu
With this collection, we invite you to try “the Sauvignon Blanc,” just don’t expect that any two bottles will tell the same story.
Peter Dipoli’s vineyards on the steep slopes of the Dolomites
© Gail Skoff
Hippolyte Reverdy’s vineyards in the Loire
© Gail Skoff
Régis Minet’s love of his native terroir translates into his wines
© Gail Skoff
Domaine Trotereau’s Pierre Ragon
© Gail Skoff
© Hervé Dubourdieu
With this collection, we invite you to try “the Sauvignon Blanc,” just don’t expect that any two bottles will tell the same story.
From the Loire to Italy, a Grape with Many Faces
by Jane Augustine
While passing by a restaurant recently, I overheard a customer order a glass of “the Sauvignon Blanc.” I wondered what she’d end up with, where this wine was from and who had made it––all the while lamenting the use of a grape variety to convey an entire category. It got me thinking of all the possibilities that might fall under the umbrella of Sauvignon Blanc, especially when considering the diverse selections within our own portfolio. Whether single-variety bottlings or blends that feature the grape, the wines in this collection unite a wide range of styles and expressions of Sauvignon Blanc from both France and Italy.
The most classic Sauvignon Blanc comes from its birthplace in the Loire Valley, and brings to mind citrusy and verdant expressions like those from Quincy, Cheverny, and Reuilly. Nervy and refreshing, these wines are slightly herbaceous with a racy undercurrent. They make for great quaffers and apéritifs. Travel east of these appellations to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where soils––rich with Kimmeridgian limestone and littered with fossils––bring layers of complexity and texture to the resulting wines. For a throwback taste to the Sancerres of yesteryear, try Neveu’s rare “Pierre-François Xavier” cuvée, which is aged in oak barrels in small quantities and produced only in exceptional years. In neighboring Pouilly-Fumé, Minet’s Vieilles Vignes consistently spotlights the flinty and chalky qualities in the soils that make this outpost for Sauvignon Blanc so special. And lastly, south of the Loire Valley in Bordeaux, the Sauvignon blends we import from Ducasse and Graville-Lacoste are electric, fruit-driven, and zesty as is the exceptionally saline, bone-dry “Définition” from Domaine de l’Alliance.
Though Sauvignon Blanc didn’t appear in Italy until the 1800s, it found a second home in areas where the production of high-quality white wines has long been a focus: on the Alpine slopes of the Dolomites in Alto Adige as well as the more coastal foothills of Friuli. In the Alps, thanks to high elevation and significant diurnal shifts, grapes ripen slowly, adding to their complexity and bringing more stone fruit and depth to the palate. Peter Dipoli’s “Voglar” from limestone soil exudes a powerful, chiseled mineral structure. In Friuli, the vernal aromas so common to Sauvignon Blanc grown in France are less pronounced, but the wines, like those from Kante and Duline––marked by converging influences from Italy and Slovenia––are nonetheless vivacious.
With this collection, we invite you to try “the Sauvignon Blanc,” just don’t expect that any two bottles will tell the same story.
Wines In The Collection
Domaine de l’Alliance France | Bordeaux
A simply stunning white that seems to not just elevate the food on your plate, but your entire mood.
France | Bordeaux
A simply stunning white that seems to not just elevate the food on your plate, but your entire mood.
More Collections
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