Luczy: California Sauvignon Blanc and the top wines to buy

Sauvignon Blanc straddles lines between straightforward and complex, quaffable and heady. Its signature herbaceous aromas range from enticing to intense, while its high acidity brings drinkers back to their glasses.

Famously the genetic mother of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc has a nearly regal importance in the story of California wine. Its origin here, however, also shares parallels with the Golden State’s most famous white of all: Chardonnay.

Scroll down for Matthew Luczy’s pick of the top California Sauvignon Blancs to buy

From the 1880s to today

Charles Wetmore, the first seminal figure in California’s wine industry, brought the first Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc vines to Livermore in the 1880s. And Wetmore took his Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon cuttings from none other than Château d’Yquem, using them to establish Cresta Blanca Winery.

In California’s post-Prohibition era, wineries often used the names of famous French regions to sell mass-produced plonk. Just as there was ‘California Chablis’, there was the intentionally misspelled ‘Sauterne’, which capitalised on stateside demand for Bordeaux’s world-famous sweet wine.

In 1968, Robert Mondavi captured a marketing opportunity to differentiate his dry Sauvignon Blanc from these luscious, jug-wine offerings. Again pulling from the French wine canon, he created the term Fumé Blanc from the Loire Valley’s Pouilly-Fumé. This wine exploded in popularity, and some still use the term today.

Many plantings throughout California are derived from the original cuttings Wetmore brought from Bordeaux, now referred to as Clone 1. This variant, along with another known as Musqué, are highly prized and commonly blended.

The aromatic intensity and exotic nature of Musqué combines beautifully with Clone 1’s opulence and richness, together forming what could be considered a classic California Sauvignon Blanc. Examples of this combination range from Calistoga’s legendary Eisele Vineyard to multiple sites in Santa Barbara County’s Happy Canyon.

Just as California Chardonnay has moved away from obvious treatment-driven styles, Sauvignon Blanc has also experienced stylistic shifts. Pungently herbaceous showings were the norm just a decade ago. Better-situated vineyards and more informed picking decisions have noticeably reigned in these styles, leading to cleaner aromatic profiles.

Three distinct California Sauvignon Blanc styles

California is a literal and figurative Wild West of the wine world, producers often inspired by from myriad global styles. While numerous iterations exist, there are three main categories in which you could place most California Sauvignon Blancs.

The Sancerre style

Clean, crisp and mineral-focused wines reminiscent of Sancerre, the Loire’s most famous white, highlight the grape’s zesty, zingy nature. These are some of California’s most food-friendly white wines – perfect partners to cooked or raw seafood, spice-driven ethnic dishes, as well as endless salad combinations.

The Bordeaux style

Fuller-bodied, creamier iterations use white Bordeaux as inspiration, and follow similar winemaking practices to some Chardonnays. Sauvignon Blanc’s herbal nature combines with new oak use and lees stirring to create an exotic, flamboyant style that can bring to mind a tropical island, chock-full of palm trees, sea breezes and sunscreen.

The Northern Italian style

Styles similar to those made in Friuli-Venezia Giulia have grown in popularity in recent years, usually using whole-cluster pressing and sometimes extended skin contact for a touch of phenolic grit and staying power. These wines tend towards a pretty, floral nature with focus, persistence and a slight waxiness.

An increasing number of Sauvignon Blancs now age in a mixture of vessels, each highlighting different flavour profiles. Winemakers often keep individual vineyard components separate, then fermenting or ageing them in either French barriques, stainless steel, clay amphorae or concrete tanks. This compartmentalised treatment has led to an overall increase in freshness, poise and complexity.

There is a laid-back and carefree quality to Sauvignon Blanc. Even benchmark examples of white Bordeaux and Sancerre are thought-provoking rather than pompous. California’s best Sauvignon Blancs emphasise this nature now more than ever, providing a wonderfully fun drinking experience, whether at the dinner table or by the pool.

California Sauvignon Blanc: top wines to buy

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