sauvignon blanc

[Randy Caparoso]

Well, I always believed in the late Roy Andries De Groot's dictum that "If it wasn't good enough for Lucullus, then it isn't good enough for me." And Lucullus, in case you don't know, always dined best alone.

There are some Sauvignon Blancs, by the way, that improve over a 3 to 10 year span. But usually ones that:

1. Are blended with Semillon (which allow intrinsic components to gel and increase in volume of flavor and round out in texture); and

2. See some French oak aging and/or barrel fermentation (not so much because of the additional flavor than the fact that oxidative effects early in a wine's life allow it to interact with oxygen to greater effect in the long run).

By the same token, Sauvignon Blancs purer in varietal content and see very little or no oak are probably best consumed when young and alive with its natural characteristics. There is less there to be improved upon by prolonged exposure to small amounts of oxygen in the bottle. As with any wine, the object of aging is not to see if a wine can "last," but to see if it actually improves in flavor and interest.