Sauvignon Blanc (NZ)	1996	Cloudy Bay

8/98. Bought in auction March-98 for $42 (imported for $62 net).
Twice in the past, while being in England, I had a chance to taste Cloudy Bay. Dorit is especially fond of this wine, so when I saw it on a recent auction catalog, I made a bid for 4 bottles, probably paying thru my nose...
Today we opened a bottle for a mid-week dinner at home. Smoked salmon for starters. Denise fish baked in vine leaves, garlic and lemon. Rice pudding.
COLOR: Medium-pale straw color. Hardly one of the wine's more impressive characteristics.
NOSE: White fruit bursting out of the glass. Clean vineyard aromas with noticeable freshly-cut grass tones. Profound and extremely enticing nose!
TASTE: Mouthfilling, vigorous, focused and full of flavors. A giant wine on the palate with plenty of style, crisp acidity and discernible wood that adds to the structure. Fantastic!
LENGTH: Medium long aftertaste of semi-ripe apples.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: A full throttle wine. Immensely structured with lots of winyness, fruit, alcohol, acidity and wood (I think). This is not your everyday light summer wine. This monster will stand up to almost any dish.
OVERALL: Superb-plus!! At two years old it is in its prime. It has enough stuffing to hold for years, but I am not sure if losing its freshness will make it any better.
MARK: 18.5/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

Reach Me? yak@yakshaya.com

Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.