France

Cool Continental

Loire: green fruit, grass, blackcurrant leaf, nettle, steely character similar to Chablis
Central vineyards: pale lemon, unoaked, mineral finish
Pouilly-Fumé: often smokier
Compared to Marlborough, less fruit-driven, cooler fruit profile, greater smokiness & minerality

France

Moderate Maritime

Bordeaux: +Semillon, white Graves combines opulence of Semillon with verve of Sauvignon Blanc
medium body, acidity, alcohol, often oaked,
complex with intense aromas of citrus fruit, peach, acacia, beeswax, hazelnut
bubble: more SB in the blend
lower alcohol & smoother texture: more Semillon in the blend
Compared to Loire, more tropical fruits and less grass & minerals

New Zealand

Cool Maritime

Marlborough: compared to Loire, H acidity but disguised by a smooth texture & residual sugar to add roundness rather than sweetness
more aromatically pronounced, riper, higher in alcohol, less chalky or mineral
The finest examples can be fermented and matured in oak
North Island often lighter in style, tropical fruit (elderflower, passion fruit, guava)

USA

Warm Mediterranean

Napa: mostly too warm, from unoaked to heavily oaked
H alcohol, L2M acidity
tropical fruits (guava, mango, and pineapple)
oaked ‘Fumé Blanc’ style very popular
Compared with oaked Chardonnays, a little less F body, higher acidity

Chile

Warm Mediterranean

Aconcagua: fruity (banana) and herbaceous
Vinified in stainless steel
Neither matches New Zealand for punchiness nor Sancerre for restraint: grapefruit, nettle, smoky herbal,
Warmer sites: tropical fruit aromas, flabby
Best from Casablanca and San Antonio

Australia

Moderate Mediterranean
Warm Meritime

intensely fruity and clean
best from Adelaide Hills
West Australia: not much MLF and sharp acidity

South Africa

Warm Mediterranean

1. like NZ, lighter in body, less intense and complex
2. oaked, less pungent, toasty complexity
Constantia (cooling air from sea)
Elgin (high altitude)