Interesting article. Thanks!
Thiols develop during fermentation, so are present at the outset (of bottling) and don’t develop further in the bottle. Thiols can dissipate over time, especially if stored at higher than normal cellar temps.
Have noticed the cat pee thiols in NZ SB’s and more infrequently in CA SB’s. Decades ago I would laugh when reading about “cat pee” in tasting notes, but once you actually smell it you realize it’s the perfect descriptor.
well dangit, had so much alcohols i forgot about thiols
I really love Dragonette’s single vineyard SBs, and I don’t get cat pee on any of them (although, maybe I’m just not sensitive to it?).
I stopped drinking those around Thanksgiving in 2004… 
Cat piss is a pretty common descriptor in west coast IPAs when certain hops are used. Seems like it’s practically 50/50 with like/not like when people note it.
Maybe I fall into the “not like” category because I generally don’t like NEIPAs. I need to pay more attention to them, and the SBs, the next time. To me they taste like heartburn, or acid reflux.
Mondavi I Block, To-Kalon Vineyard, Sauvignon Blanc (small block within To-Kalon Vineyard). While its not made every vintage, this wine ALWAYS has strong aromas of cat-pee. Almost too much, but then you taste the wine and its drop dead gorgeous. Maybe my favorite SB as far as taste. Those vines are very old, I believe 75 years old, but not sure what clone they are.
I’d imagine the clone and potentially the clone/rootstock combo if not ownrooted, is the biggest contributor of Thiols during fermentation. Perhaps fermentation techniques contribute as well as some sort of grape maturation chemistry from each vintages particular climate (maybe cooler years tend to lead to more Thiols during fermentation)? Who knows? Nonetheless, the cat-pee aroma is impossible for me to not smell and is NASTY!!!
Watch out: Otto is going to tell you to read the article! 
Bingo. ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
UPDATE:
Hi everyone- thanks for all this great info. This thread inspired to pop the cork on one of the few high end Sauv Blancs that I own. I chose the 2014 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly. TN below. Cliff note version- very enjoyable wine, a little cat pee, too expensive. The full version:
"Vibrant, high acidity, very focused, young (in a good way). Pours a pale gold, looks very youthful in the glass. The nose is a bit shy, especially considering the young vibrant aromas that are present- there is a faint trace of the good ole’ Sauv Blanc cat-pee aroma, especially as the wine takes on air, but that’s frankly in the background. The nose has lovely lemon zest, lemongrass, aromas and a lovely creaminess rounding it all out. In the mouth, the wine initially tastes like lemongrass and key limes, along with a big handful of crushed white rocks. It’s wonderfully lively. The finish is long, and has a bitter grapefruit-y quality to it with a drying chalky mineral character.
Overall, it’s an enjoyable wine. I have some, but not a vast amount of experience with Loire Sauvignon Blancs, so it’s easiest for me to place this within wines that I have a bit more familiarity with; the flavor profile reminds me of dry Riesling and the minerality is reminiscent of Chablis. This wine is 7 years old and is fresh as a daisy; it could definitely age another 5, probably 10 years, and be all the better for it. Clearly exceptionally well made and highlights the great diversity of flavors that Sauv Blanc is capable of.
The only issue I have with it is its price tag. I somehow was lucky and managed to buy this bottle for $68. For me, that price is already stretching it. Current winesearcher price is $129. At that price, it’s a pass. There’s plenty more wine out there that’s just as enjoyable for way less money."
Cat’s pee is/was one of those wine descriptors that I grew up with here in NZ and it was certainly extremely prevalent in the '80s & '90s Kiwi SB’s that I cut my milk teeth on. There was a famous (perhaps infamous) brand out there called ‘Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush’ which pretty much typified Kiwi SB of the time. It’s a character that I very rarely come across nowadays, and without being clear on the science it is something that I have attributed to ripeness levels of the fruit. Improvements and changes in viticulture and canopy management are producing riper fruit with more of the tropical, passionfruit, kiwifruit spectrum and less of the cat’s pee in my experience. Also, while they are probably less available in overseas markets, more producers here are playing around with bottlings that have barrel/wild yeast ferments, yeast lees contact, riper fruit, oak influence etc to create different expressions of the grape (a leaning towards Sancerre or Bordeaux perhaps within a NZ idiom). There is certainly far greater diversity stylistically now, though other than pricing, it can be difficult to discern the difference from the label.
4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one (4MMP), 3-mercaptohexan-1-ol (3MH), 3-mercaptohexyl acetate (3MHA)
Tropical fruit/passion fruit at low levels; cat’s urine at higher levels.
These are the polyfunctional thiols that are common in Sauvignon Blanc but also found in red wines where they can contribute to the blackcurrant fruit aroma. An example of sulfur flavours that can be positive in the right environment.
from: mercaptans and other volatile sulfur compounds in wine
I notice this effect more often and to a stronger degree after having covid. I never lost my sense of taste or smell, but several months after recovering a few tastes changed (Coke now tastes like it is spiked with rosemary, onions are much stronger).
I’ve talked to a few coworkers who have had similarly specific taste changes, but completely different things trigger it. One poor soul can’t drink any red wines.
If this is something you are suddenly experiencing differently, maybe you had covid and didn’t experience symptoms.