I suppose I should say that in English. "Varietal" is the technical term for "the kind of grape they made the wine with." In today's case, we're looking at two sauvignon blancs. One of the best ways to get a sense of what a specific varietal is like is to try some different examples of it. Here, we've got a New Zealand sauvignon blanc and one from the Napa Valley in California. Without further ado...
WHITES
Mount Fishtail Sauvignon Blanc
Where: Marlborough, New Zealand. This is the most important wine region in New Zealand, located on the northeast end of the south island (New Zealand's land mass is almost entirely made up of two big islands - the north one and the south one). Sauvignon blanc is the most widely grown grape here, and the most well-regarded internationally, though pinot noir and chardonnay are also grown in large amounts. It's also not a hard region to look at...
Aroma: Citrus up front...a little grapefruity, maybe? Supposedly, the difficult-to-place green fruit note I got is probably gooseberry; I've only ever had it in a pie, so it's hard for me to say with certainty. There's also some grassiness (like a freshly mown lawn...that kinda smell) kicking around, and a sharp, almost biting little note of..."pipi de chat," as they might say in France. Or, as I say in Chicago, cat piss. Apparently, this is normal in sauvignon blanc...since "sauvignon" comes from "sauvage," which means wild, I suppose you can't say you didn't get what they advertised.
Taste: Kind of a letdown after the odiferous wild ride we just had...but maybe not in bad ways, since it's mostly the cat pee that disappears. Decently acidic, medium light body, and more of that gooseberry and grapefruit than anything else.
Food: I think this would be a nice match with a medium-to-heavy fish preparation - a hearty baked cod, salmon with leeks, etc. The citrus and acidity would cut nicely through the fat, and those green, grassy notes would play well the vegetable components in the dish...especially something like leeks that are a bit grassy, too.
Now, onto our other sauvignon blanc!
Slingshot Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Where: I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. California sauvignon blanc usually grows in warmer weather than the New Zealand variety sampled above, and that'll make a big difference in the aromas and flavors that emerge. Check it out.
Aroma: Couldn't be more different than the Mount Fishtail. While the Mount Fishtail was green and grassy and grapefruity and pissy (meow), this smells like a tropical fruit salad. Papaya, a little mango, ripe cantaloupe and honeydew, and a little mint. This is a great example of how weather affects a wine's taste...warmer weather equals riper grapes, which equal different smells and tastes.
Taste: Bright, sunny, tropical flavors come up first - you taste that mango and papaya. Then, some ripe apple and citrus (more lemon and lime than the grapefruit we had in the last one), and rounding it out is that super ripe cantaloupe...and it hangs out all day long. Really lingers on the palate. Mouthwatering acidity, and a medium body - it almost seems honeyed.
Food: This went well with roasted chicken thighs that were in a lemon, mustard, and caper sauce. It'd go great with fatty fish or light-to-medium poultry. It also drinks pretty damn good just on its own - have some of this chilled on a hot day, and you'll be doing alright.
RED
Macedon Pinoit Noir, 2013
Where: Macedonia...specifically the former Yugoslav republic, not the region in Greece. Macedonia's not a big wine producer, but it's in the up-and-coming category along with much of southeastern Europe. If you need some help finding Macedonia on a map...
Also, it's apparently gorgeous there...no idea where in relation this is to the vineyards, but it's too pretty not to look at:
Anyway, to get on with it...
Aroma: Lots of cherry, and very ripe - almost more like cherry juice. With that are some red berries, maybe even a little plum. These aren't uncommon for pinot noir, especially when it's from a sunnier, more southern growing region like, say, Macedonia.
Taste: Time for a lesson about a little thing called...aeration, or breathing. Sometimes, when a wine's been stuck in a bottle, all by itself, it needs a little space to breathe and stretch out. It's like how you probably get after being stuck in a car for hours...you kinda need to take a break to stretch yourself out before you're back to normal, right? Same for wine, and air helps it stretch out. You can do any number of things to help; the best is to pour the wine into a decanter. You can also use an aerating pourer that you plug into the top of the bottle...some people say these can over aerate the wine, but if you buy a good one, it still turns out OK. You can also just pour the wine into your glass, give it a few good swirls, let it sit a few minutes, and give it a few more swirls.
All of that is to say...this guy needed to breathe. My initial sip was REALLY funkified - pinot noir often has some earthy, mushroomy, "barnyard" (if you know what I mean) notes, but this was a little TOO barnyard-esque. Not quite all the way to hog confinement on a July afternoon, but closer than one would like. With some breathing, though, the fruit came out nice and strong, with just the right touch of earthy funk to give it some character. It has a fairly smooth texture, but not as silky as some pinot noirs that I've had.
Food: This would go great with roast chicken or pork. It's a little too much for fish, and while it could maybe handle lamb or beef, it's a bit too suave to really hold its own in the face of a big red meat onslaught.
