The best of the French wines made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc grapes are produced in the LOIRE Valley at SANCERRE and POUILLY-FUMÉ. They’re crisp and TART and sometimes have a noticeable FLINTY characteristic. A classic aroma reference for some of the Loire Valley wines is CAT PEE. The elegant DRY wines from BORDEAUX—primarily from GRAVES—are a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and SÉMILLON that’s been AGED in oak barrels. The Sémillon rounds out the flavor and provides additional STRUCTURE,enabling these wines to age for decades. Some of the best and most expensive of these Bordeaux wines come from Château Haut-Brion and Domaine De Chevalier. Although Sémillon is, in most cases, the primary grape used in the great SAUTERNES wines, Sauvignon Blanc plays an important role in these rich, sweet wines. In California, Robert Mondavi gave Sauvignon Blanc a push when he introduced an oakystyled Sauvignon Blanc VARIETAL WINE he called FUMÉ BLANC. Now the second best-selling varietal in California after CHARDONNAY, Sauvignon Blanc wines are made in a variety of additional styles, from those that are crisp and unoaked to Sémillon blends. Steps have been taken over the last decade to lessen the pronounced grassy characteristic of California’s Sauvignon Blancs. New Zealand jumped into the international wine scene during the 1980s and 1990s with its renowned Sauvignon Blancs, which continue to have a tremendous following. In 1997, researchers at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS determined that Sauvignon Blanc and CABERNET FRANC were the likely parents of the renowned CABERNET SAUVIGNON grape. This grape is also known as Blanc Fumé, Sauvignon Jaune, and Sauvignon Musqué. There are mutations of Sauvignon Blanc that have darker pink or grayish skins and which produce slightly different results from the standard Sauvignon Blanc variety. Known variously as Sauvignon Rosé, Sauvignon Rouge, or Sauvignon Gris, these darker versions produce wines with somewhat more BODY and a spicier character. There appears to be differences in what is called Sauvignon Rosé and Sauvignon Gris, but current evidence is inconclusive. Some Sauvignon Rosé is planted in the Loire and Sauvignon Gris is planted in Bordeaux, Chile, and, more recently, California.