2008 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
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Tasting notes
Very pale straw-yellow. Sexy, pure aromas of soft citrus fruits, grapefruit and lemon oil, accented by peppery herbs. Dense, sweet and supple, with lovely lift and spicy high notes to the lemon, grapefruit and pineapple flavors. A broad, fruit-driven style of sauvignon with a light touch-and distinctly polite for this bottling, showing neither the outstanding intensity and grip of the best recent vintages nor the pronounced herbaceous character of the more difficult years. But this is harmonious from the outset.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc is a little anonymous on the nose. Faint scents of pebbles on a stony beach but little more. The palate is simple with ripe apple and a touch of gooseberry on the entry, but the palate is lacking tension and definition, the finish lurching towards ephemeral. Big changes at Cloudy Bay, having parted ways with founding winemaker Kevin Judd who stays on as consultant and relinquishing the services of senior winemaker Eveline Fraser in April 2009. I have expressed my reservations with this iconic producer in WA176 and returning one year later I returned as open-minded as ever, yet I still find that their portfolio is a notch behind other Marlborough producers. Importer: Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY
On the nose, fine citrus and even very slightly floral, even creamy, tightly reigned back on anything too grassy but there are light herbal and flinty notes as well. Much more rampantly New Zealand Sauvignon on the palate, classic gooseberry and very crisp herbaceous notes. Concentrated and long with a little bit of heat from the 13.5% on the finish. (JH)