jamie goode's wine blog: Does Sauvignon age? Two older Seresins

Friday, October 30, 2009

Does Sauvignon age? Two older Seresins


Does Sauvignon Blanc age? I used to think 'no'; now I think 'usually not', but perhaps I should say 'yes, when the original wine is balanced and not too green.'

Here are two older Sauvignon Blancs from Seresin, one of Marlborough's leading producers. Both have aged well; the 2002 is very stylish indeed, the 1999 more 'interesting'.

Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Marlborough
92% Sauvignon, 8% Semillon, 7% fermented in French oak. Refined nose is minerally and citrussy with some tomato leaf and some green pepper notes. The palate has a lovely greenness that hasn't turned to tinned pea, with complex grassy, herby notes as well as some grapefruit freshness. This is still fresh and is ageing really beautifully, with chalky minerality under the fruit. 91/100

Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 1999 Marlborough
89% Sauvignon, 11% Semillon (this portion fermented in French oak). Yellow gold colour. Evolving with some toasty nutty notes and hints of oiliness. The palate is savoury with some lemony acid under the dense, subtly grassy minerally fruit. Still very much alive but perhaps past its best. 87/100

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1 Comments:

At 10:18 PM, Blogger kevin said...

I think one of the keys to the ageability of these wines is the semillon component and the partial oak treatment. Plus with these wines the cropping levels would be quite low and the fruit ripe.

These days a lot of savs tend not to have any semillon component.

 

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