"Hunt" wrote (re Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc) ..........

> It has exhibited great NZ SB character
> and offered inexpensive pleasures.

> Maybe St H can shed light on the 04, and offer some details
> of the harvest and Crawford's handling of it.

I have previously posted on the sheer size of the 04 vintage (in particular
respect to the Marlborough region) it was/is nearly double the previous
year.

But (and there is always a but!) I do not equate size with quality - I fear
that many wineries (particularly those with larger export markets) have
churned out one hell of a lot of wine (by NZ standards, of course) of good,
but not excellent quality.

I myself *am not* a huge Kim Crawford fan - it has wide availability in
every supermarket chain around, is frequently discounted - and to me, is
exactly what the British market demands, a quite aggressive, one dimensional
style of Marlborough SB.

I have tried the 04 on about 1/2 dozen occasions, and remain underwhelmed.

Firstly, I understand that although there are something like 150 separate
Marlborough Sauvignons made, many are made in very small quantities, and to
you USAns, I am sorry, the UK market remains far more important to NZ
winemakers than yours (your "difficult" distribution system is an impediment
to the marketing of "boutique" wines) - so, while there are quite a few
better examples of NZ Sauvignon which I have tried, I can only guess which
ones may be available.

Getting back on to the subject of Kim Crawford SB - imnsho, it would not
make my top 20.

Top 2004 Marlborough wine (to me) is Sacred Hill Marlborough SB, followed by
Nautilus, Mud Brick (I know this is available in Australia) Jackson Estate,
several of the Villa Maria Single Vineyard Reserve wines (Wairau & Clifford)
and Cloudy Bay (available under Stelvin, I note!)

I rate the 2004 Palliser Estate (Martinborough) something like 18/20 (not
quite up to the astounding 2003).

A word about Cloudy Bay, and the Villa Maria Reserve wines - they are more
expensive, but I do believe that these wineries "do more".

Both have a little oak maturation, to soften that acidic assault; some have
a little Semillon blended; both pick at various times, to ensure some very
ripe fruit introduces some real tropical flavours, while underpinning with
typical kiwi sauvignon "herbaceousness"

There ends the gospel according to His Lordship.

I agree with (the privately communicated comments of my friend, the learned
Lipton) - upon my recommendation, he tried the Nautilus, and compared same
with the Crawford.

The Crawford was OTT (his comment) and harsh (mine) - while the Nautilus
showed more complexity (his words) and structure and dimension (mine)

Sauvignon (no matter where from) would not be my choice of winter wine, but,
I urge you, to look outside the obvious - you may well be surprised)

--

st.helier