2007 Cloudy Bay is here – but where’s the rhubarb?
A red letter day….or rather, a brown box day. My first case of 2007 New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs est arrivé and I am over-excited, but there is good news and bad:
I am slightly disappointed that Dog Point is not included in this year’s case. But this is more than made up for by the price, which at £110 including two bottles of Cloudy Bay seems particularly good value.
The brown box had been left outside my front door, and the ambient temperature was a perfect 8 degrees, so I immediately unpacked the box and cracked open (or rather unscrewed the cap of) the Cloudy Bay. I expected a complex rhubarb and citrus aroma, like the 2006, but was surprised to get a noseful of gooseberry.
The colour was much paler than 2006. The flavour was still super intense and super zingy, but this year it reminded me of the sort of sugar coated lemon jellies that frequently get passed round at Christmas. Very pleasant but I thought the wine lacked the complexity of its predecessor. At this stage I would recommend seeking out the 2006 (if you can find it) but that leads me on to a separate thought – maybe I am drinking the 2007 too early? We all know that Kiwi SBs should be drunk young, but maybe even a few months “age” in the bottle is important?
Next time I fancy Cloudy Bay, I am going to drink my last bottle of 2006, and leave my remaining bottle of 2007 until later this year. It will be interesting to compare notes.
After writing this post, I searched for online reviews of the 2007 and found them very thin on the ground. Perhaps everyone else already knows that it needs more time?
February 20th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Following a recent visit to a NZ wine tasting, I too was a little disappointed in the 2007 Cloudy Bay SB but I have discovered an absolute diamond of a Sauvignon Blanc – Two Rivers Marlborough Wairau Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a well balanced number, mixing that much loved crisp acidity with a creamy texture and tropical fruit. It’s available from winethief.co.uk for less than half the price of Cloudy Bay. I recommend you give it a try.
February 21st, 2008 at 8:21 pm
[…] recently ordered a case of SBs from the Wine Society and my first taste (Cloudy Bay) worried me that 2007 was a poor year in comparison to 2006. Trinity Hill has assured me that […]
August 26th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Pale lemon/green colour; gentle lychee nose; thin, watery and green lychee and very short – very, very disappointing wine
August 26th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
I’ve just drunk my last bottle of 2006 and it was lovely partnered with giant king prawns thai style (barbecued, since you ask).
I now have 3 bottles of 2007 left. Do I give them away or wait for them to improve?