Review: Bolle Dealcoholized Sauvignon Blanc
/Bolle Sauvignon Blanc, Spain, $30US/€20EU
I’ve written about Bolle two or three times over the past year, and was delighted when I received a shipment of a whole bunch of new styles from the brand including several still whites and reds that haven’t been released yet. I’m a huge fan of their sparkling blanc de blanc and their sparkling rosé. I thought I’d start with the Bolle Sauvignon Blanc since it’s peak summer and this is a great patio wine!
Bolle is the first non-alcoholic brand to use secondary fermentation on their wines, which is an age-old winemaking technique they’ve adapted into their dealcoholization process. Bolle’s co-founder and product development specialist Roberto Vanin developed a proprietary strain of low-alcohol yeast in order to do this, and it makes a huge difference in recreating a wine-like profile for wines stripped of alcohol.
For a longer introduction to Bolle, you should check out my review of the Bolle Blanc de Blanc in which I interview founder Gary Read.
And a side note on pronunciation. I was on a call the other day and realized I was saying ‘bollé’ incorrectly with a stress on the ending ‘e’ like in French. Google Translate confirmed that ‘bolle’ in Italian means bubbles and it’s pronounced almost like saying ‘bowl’.
Bolle’s original stable of wines is produced in Spain, but the sauvignon blanc is actually produced in Germany in the Rhineland region. Sauvignon blanc is not native to Germany, but has been grown there in small quantities since the 90s.
Breaking down the wine, I found it to be quite interesting and really delicious. I’m not sure if I’m sold on it as the perfect n/a sauvignon blanc but that’s completely fine because it has a lot of other merits than being text book perfect.
Aroma
Ripe pear, apple and a hint of grass on the nose.
Mouthfeel and Experience
The first thing that hit me right away is the weight of this n/a white. When a dealcoholized white has a medium weight to it, it usually appears in the mid-palate, but with the Bolle sauvignon blanc they’ve nailed the ‘wine’ feeling to the liquid right from the start. To keep their winemaking as natural as possible, Bolle doesn’t add much to their wine post-dealcoholization, so I’m assuming the lovely body is a result of their proprietary secondary fermentation. This helps to add some natural elements back into the thinned out wine.
Taste
The other massive highlight of this delicious wine is the high natural acidity that creates a sharp, crisp zip on your tongue. As a result of the secondary fermentation, there’s also a teeny tiny hint of effervescence and combined with the lively acidity, it’s just popping out of the glass.
When it comes to flavour, there is a distinct lack of herbal grassy notes which fans of sauvignon blanc will miss. This is most likely due to a cooler climate where the grapes are grown (Germany), dealcoholization and the second fermentation in a steel tank. Instead, there are notes of green apple, ripe pear and honeysuckle similar to a cool climate chardonnay. It’s more of a European-style sauvignon blanc rather than an Aussie or New Zealand aromatic-forward style.
It finishes super clean with a nice lift at the end.
And as always, to address the number one question, is this non-alcoholic wine too sweet and does it taste like grape juice? Absolutely not. The Bolle Sauvignon Blanc has only 3g of sugar per glass, and the bright acidity and nicely balanced fruit keep this from being overly sweet.
What to pair with Bolle Sauvignon Blanc
The zippy acidity in this non-alcoholic wine will be a great pairing with oily shellfish, mussels, oysters and the like. Because of the prominent green apple, I would also pair this with smoked applewood cheddar cheese and candied walnuts in a kale salad. Delicious!
Overall
I really love this non-alcoholic white - it’s so fresh and puckery and has a truly impeccable weight to it that drinks like a real wine. But, it does fall short of being a grassy sauvignon blanc like the ones we’re used to from New Zealand or the Loire. It’s got some characteristics of a cool-climate chardonnay, which I think is fine because the liquid is beautifully drinkable. I would love more sauvi b character but on the whole, it’s a good drink and I would absolutely recommend this for summer sipping.
Score: 94 points
How we score wines at Some Good Clean Fun:
95 to 100 - An excellent drink with a great personality. An example that stands out among its peers
90 to 94 - An accomplished drink with considerable personality, character and complexity. A classic example of its style or variety.
85 to 89 - A perfectly well-made drink which provides an enjoyable drinking experience.
80 to 84 - An acceptable but simple drink, lacking distinction.
