Overview of Sauvignon Blanc varietal Jean-Michel BOURSIQUOT 2018 Sauvignon Blanc International Symposium May 4, 2018 Lake County, California
Names Sauvignon vs. Sauvignon Blanc Variations without «persistence» (Mas et Pulliat, 1878) : Gros Sauvignon, Sauvignon vert Petit Sauvignon, Sauvignon jaune Color variations Sauvignon gris, Sauvignon rose Sauvignon rouge, Sauvignon violet
Names Synonyms Blanc Fumé, Fumé blanc, Fumé (Nièvre) Feigentraube (Germany) Fié, Fier (Val de Loire) Génetin, Jennetin (Loiret, Loir-et-Cher) Puinéchou, Punéchon (Gers) Savagnou (Gers) Sucrin, Surin (Val de Loire, Auvergne)
Names Homonyms or confusions Muscat (Orléans) = Sauvignon Muscat Sylvaner, Muskat Silvaner (Central Europe) = Sauvignon Savagnin musqué = Sauvignon Sauvignon à gros grains (Corrèze) = Muscadelle Sauvignon vert (USA) = Muscadelle Sauvignon vert (Chile) = Sauvignonasse (Friulano) Sauvignon noir = Pardotte or Cabernet-Sauvignon
Names Homonyms or confusions Blanc doux, Douce blanche (Dordogne) = Muscadelle Maurillon blanc = Pinot blanc or Chardonnay Rouchelin (South West) = Chenin or Sauvignon Savagnin jaune = Savagnin Servonier, Servanien, Servinien, Servoyen (Bourgogne) = Savagnin
Names Etymology Sauvignon (the same as Savagnin) from Latin salvaticus, silvaticus, deriving from silva (the forest) : wild, natural, not domesticated, with a difficult character Fié, Fier (proud) from Latin ferus : untamed, uncontrolled, wild Fumé : smoked, tinted, probably due to the bloom on the berry skin
First quotes and historical data Ø 1534, François Rabelais - Gargantua (Livre I, Chapitre XXV)
First quotes and historical data Ø 1690, Jean Merlet L abrégé des bons fruits
First quotes and historical data Ø 1736, Abbé Jules Bellet Voyage littéraire, manuscript
First quotes and historical data Ø 1783, Dupré de Saint-Maur - Inquiry, manuscripts
First quotes and historical data Ø 1785, De Secondat Mémoires sur la culture des vignes de la Guienne
First quotes and historical data Ø 1800, Abbé François Rozier Cours complet d agriculture, tome X
First quotes and historical data Ø 1845, Comte Odart Traité des cépages
First quotes and historical data Ø 1878, Mas et Pulliat Le vignoble
First quotes and historical data Ø 1901, G. Cazeaux-Cazalet Viala et Vermorel, Ampélographie
Genetic origin and kindship group
Geographical origin?
Importance Acreage in France (FranceAgriMer) 80 000 70 000 60 000 50 000 40 000 30 000 20 000 10 000 0 1958 1968 1978 1988 1998 2008 2016 acres
Importance Distribution in French wine regions (FranceAgriMer, 2016) 24 000 acres 20 000 16 000 12 000 8 000 4 000 0 Languedoc Bordeaux South West Loire Valley Centre-Bourgogne Charentes Rhône Valley Provence
Importance In the world (OIV 2015, adapted) acres 1 France 79 459 2 New Zealand 52 881 3 Chile 37 491 4 South Africa 22 889 5 USA 16 489 6 Australia 15 066 7 Romania 13 823 8 Spain 12 177 9 Ukraine 7 660 10 Italy 7 490 11 Argentina 5 817 12 Moldavia 4 942 13 Austria 3 106 14 Slovenia 2 622 15 Bulgaria 2 570 16 China 2 471 17 Hungary 2 424 18 Germany 2 362 19 Czech Rep. 2 333 20 Russia 2 224 21 Greece 1 890 22 India 1 236 23 Lebanon 1 236 24 Morocco 1 236 25 Mexico 1 236 26 Portugal 759 27 Slovakia 709 28 Canada 662 29 Serbia 645 30 Croatia 633 31 Turkey 494 32 Switzerland 420 33 Uruguay 366 34 Macedonia 348 35 Israel 272 36 Brazil 247 37 Cyprus 121 38 UK 7 Other Countries 7 413
Importance Total acreage in the world : 316 000 acres Eleventh row of the cultivars Between Ugni blanc : 292 000 acres (twelfth row) and Red Globe : 395 000 acres (tenth row) For comparison Chardonnay : 531 000 acres (sixth row) The third white wine variety in the world
Description and ampelography Shoot tip High density of white prostrate hairs Yellow young leaves with light bronze spots Shoots Green nodes and internodes
Leaves Description and ampelography Small to moderate size Bumpy (bubbled) blade, twisted (curly) on the edges Green veins and petioles Medium and convex teeth
Description and ampelography Clusters Small or small to medium Very dense Short peduncles Berries Small Ellipsoid With bloom
Behavior and cultural traits Phenology Budbreak : medium to medium-late, 8 days after Chardonnay, GDD 5 = 322 [285 372] (García de Cortázar et al, 2009; Castany, 2013) Maturity : 2 nd period, one week after Chardonnay Semi erected to erected shoot attitude Short to very short internodes High density of foliage
Behavior and cultural traits Very high vigor Training systems : vigor management First years after plantation : generous pruning Control of the number of shoots / meter, disbudding Clusters micro climate (leaf removal vs shade)
Behavior and cultural traits Training systems : some examples and comparison Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre : mini 2 400 vines/acre ( 1.3m x 1m), cordon (7 spurs maxi) or Guyot (8+2)
Behavior and cultural traits Training systems : some examples and comparison Sauternes : mini 2 600 vines/acre (1.9m maxi x 0.8m mini), fan-shaped Gobelet with 2 to 5 arms (6 spurs maxi) or Guyot (6+2) or Bordelaise (4+4) Bordeaux blanc : mini 1 600 vines/acre (2.5m maxi x 0.85m mini), 14 shoots maxi/vine
Behavior and cultural traits Training systems : some examples and comparison Languedoc :
Behavior and cultural traits Nutrients and hydric requirements - Nitrogen : needs well balanced supply (attention to weed control) - Water : to avoid stress as well as excess Soil adaptation Intermediate fertility Limestone soils : soft lime, marls, stony soils, clayey and lime soils Flint clay Gravel and acid soils Sandy and light texture soils
Behavior and cultural traits Rootstocks Traditional advice in order to control the vigor Riparia Gloire de Montpellier, 101-14 MGt, 3309 C 420 A, (161-49 C), 41 B vs Fercal
Behavior and cultural traits - Plants production statistics (FranceAgriMer, 2016) 12.2 million of grafted plants in nurseries 8 th variety grafted, 3 rd white variety SO4 3 363 000 3309 C 2 861 000 Fercal 2 028 000 Gravesac 1 061 000 41 B 747 000 101-14 727 000 110 R 359 000 1103 P 254 000 Riparia 216 000 RSB 1 163 000 140 Ru 126 000 Others 318 000 SO4 3309 C Fercal Gravesac 41B MGt 101-14 MGt 110 R 1103 Pa Riparia RSB 1 140 Ru Others
Behavior and cultural traits Pests and diseases sensitivity Very susceptible to bunch rot and to wood diseases (esca, eutypa dieback) Sensitive to powdery mildew but not to downy mildew General comments Technical demanding cultivar Neither too much nor too not much Vigor control is a main key point
Technological potential Type of wines Sweet wines Blends with Semillon and Muscadelle Dry wines Varietal wines Blends with other white cultivars : Colombard, Gros Manseng, Ugni blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Parellada, In the past blended in some red wines (Comte Odart, 1845; D Armailhacq, 1855; Mas et Pulliat, 1878)
Technological potential Aromas Blackcurrant bud Boxwood Broom Cat pee Figs Citrus fruits Passion fruits Strawberry Aspergillus Grassy Green pepper. Flint ( rifle stone, mineral )
Technological potential Influence of vineyard management on aromas Methoxypyrazines : decrease with ripening, leaf removal (Suklje et al, 2013) and high temperature M.J. Lacey et al, 1991
Technological potential Thiols molecules Moderate water stress : increase of thiols precursors (4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one and 3- mercaptohexan-1-ol) 25000 20000 ng/l 15000 10000 Deep soil Covered soil 5000 0 P-4MMP P-4MMPOH P-3MH X. Choné, 2001
Technological potential Thiols molecules 16000 12000 ng/l 8000 Nitrogen supply X. Choné, 2001 Low N soil 4000 0 P-4MMP P-4MMPOH P-3MH Low N soil + 60 U
Technological potential Thiols molecules Vineyard treatments with nitrogen and sulfur : increase by 3 to 5 times the content of thiols (T. Dufourcq, 2011) 2 treatments : first, beginning of veraison and second, 8 to 10 days after 2 to 4 kg/acre of N and 1 to 2.5 kg/acre of S per treatment (80 to 160 L/acre) Warning, thiols are susceptible to copper (attention with organic viticulture)
Color variations Sauvignon gris (gray) : 2 690 acres in France
Sauvignon rouge (red) Color variations
Clonal programs Main objectives First generation (1970 1975) : healthy and true to type material corresponding to the standard features of the variety, production regularity and yield level Second generation (1976 1987) : lower production, aromas, maturity, tolerance to Botrytis, improvement of the clonal diversity 20 certified clones of Sauvignon - Sancerre and Quincy (5) : 107, 159, 160, 530, 619 - Touraine (8) : 240, 241, 242, 297, 376, 377, 378, 379 - Bordeaux (7) : 108, 161, 316, 317, 531, 905, 906
Clonal programs Acreage of increase blocks Clone Acres 108 38.2 242 24.9 905 19.3 376 19.1 159 16.3 530 14.1 297 13.4 906 9.2 316 (2+) 9.0 317 (2+) 4.8 917 15.4 # 52 % 108 242 905 376 159 530 297 906 316 317 0thers 917
Clonal programs Location : Loir-et-Cher (Saint-Romain, Touraine) Rootstock : 3309 C - Duration : 3 years 10,6 10,4 530 Alcohol (% vol) 10,2 376 10,0 317 (2+) 9,8 316 (2+) 9,6 241 242 9,4 160 9,2 2,4 2,6 2,8 3,0 3,2 3,4 3,6 yield / vine (kg)
Clonal programs Location : Gironde (Mazion, Cotes de Blaye) Rootstock : Gravesac - Duration : 5 years 224 222 917 Sugar content (g/l) 220 218 216 214 212 210 905 906 316 108 (2+) 317 (2+) 242 2 2,1 2,2 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9 Yield per vine (kg)
Frequency (%) Intensity (%) 8 Clonal programs Location : Gironde (Mazion, Cotes de Blaye) Rootstock : Gravesac - Duration : 5 years Botrytis cinerea 70 Frequency Intensity 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 108 242 316 317 905 906 917 (2+) (2+) 0
Fertility - Low : 917 - High : 241, 297, 619 Cluster size - Small : 917 - Big : 159, 377, 905 Yield - Low : 159, 316, 530, 906, 917 - High : 241, 377 Quality of the wines Clonal programs Location : Gard (Savignargues) Rootstock : 110 R - Duration : 6 years 14 clones : 108, 159, 240, 241, 242, 297, 316, 377, 378, 530, 619, 905, 906 and Sauvignon gris 917-906 : more aromatic - 905 and 917: full and round
Clonal programs Synthetic results http://plantgrape.plantnet-project.org/fr/cepage/sauvignon Sugar content High 530 Medium to high 906 159-905 242 Medium 108-240 - 316-317 376-377 - 379 241-297 107 Low to medium 619-519 378 160-161 Low Level production Low Low to medium Medium Medium to High High
Clonal programs Synthetic results - 108 : aromatic and typical wines, still very appreciated for its agronomical behavior - 159 : aromatic, sometimes a little bit heavy wines - 242 : balanced and typical wines when yield is controlled - 297 : typical wines with less dense bunches - 530 : early maturity, slightly higher sensitive to bunch rot - 905 and 906 : earlier maturity, good tolerance to bunch rot, aromatic, full and balanced wines
Clonal programs 2 generations of clonal selection programs : 1970 1975 and 1976 1987 Conservation of intra varietal diversity - Local repositories in Loire Valley (IFV Val de Loire) https://bioweb.supagro.inra.fr/collections_vigne/pdfsiteweb/ Conservatoire_IFV-valdeloire.pdf Montreuil-Bellay (Maine-et-Loire) : 1994-2000, Sauvignon B, 215 accessions and Sauvignon gris, 54 accessions Fresnes (Loir-et-Cher) : 2001, Sauvignon B, 125 accessions Marigny-Brizay (Vienne) : 2011, Sauvignon gris, 27 accessions
Clonal programs - INRA repositories Couhins Estate (Bordeaux) : 2012, Sauvignon B, 104 accessions https://bioweb.supagro.inra.fr/collections_vigne/pdfsiteweb /Conservatoire_INRA-bdx.pdf Vassal Estate (Languedoc) : Sauvignon B, gray and red, 26 accessions https://bioweb.supagro.inra.fr/collections_vigne/home.php - IFV repository Espiguette Estate (Languedoc) : 55 accessions including 20 certified clones - Private repository Château Guiraud (Bordeaux)
Clonal programs More than 500 accessions of Sauvignon identified and held in repositories in France - Some of these repositories can now be used as mother vines to produce grafted plants under the label : Biodiversité Vigne There is a need : - to complete these repositories with more diverse origins because they are essential for future clonal selection programs - for a next generation of clones in relationship with climate changes : later, aromatic and good acidity - for other clones of Sauvignon gris
Use for breeding programs
Conclusion Sauvignon became the third white wine variety in the world with more than 316 000 acres According to its etymology, Sauvignon is a wild grape difficult to tame It offers opportunities of very diverse styles of wines The choice of the terroir and of the vineyard management influence very much the quality and the style of the wines Sauvignon is appreciated by young generations of consumers The future is before it and belongs to it
Thank you for your attention 2018 Sauvignon Blanc International Symposium