On Saturday, we had a number of our friends over for our annual "cellar
clearance" (cull) party. Since some of our friends can't or won't drink
red wine, and since we rarely find ourselves with white wines in the
cellar that we want to dispose of, we ended up using the occasion to
sample some NZ SBs from the most recent vintage:

2006 Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
nose: intense notes of tropical fruit and gooseberry
palate: a reprise of the nose, with a slightly herbal quality added in

2006 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
n: gooseberries and minerals
p: somewhat dilute after the Babich; grapefruit

2006 Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc
n: muted, grapefruit and grass
p: more dilute than the Babich or Kim Crawford, mostly grapefruit

2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
n: powerful, tropical fruit, grapefruit
p: grapefruit and gooseberry, grass

I've had a number of previous years of the Babich, including an '01
tasted at the winery. None of them have come close to what I got from
the '06. Only the Kim Crawford came close, but of the two I'd say the
Babich had a bit more refinement to it.

Mark Lipton

Seems like 2006 was an excellent year from what I understand. A couple
of weeks ago, my family had opened two SBs from the 06 vintage along
with dinner.

The Stoneleigh (Marlborough) was very pale - almost clear in the glass
- with the typically assertive NZ nose of grass, passionfruit and
citrus with a little minerality. Slightly sweet in the mouth with
fairly concentrated tropical fruit flavours, lots of acidity and a
smooth finish - quite superb.
The other one blew it away though. I've tasted a range of Kiwi
Sauvignon Blancs in the last few years, but would say that this was
undoubtedly among the very best - the Cloudy Bay 06 was simply
stellar. One of the most intense and layered noses I've smelt, with
lime zest, pineapple, passionfruit, herb and lemongrass aromas. Lots
of fruit in the mouth, plenty of acidity balancing a little residual
sugar, and a stunning long, clean finish.

Doesn't seem like there are any real misses so far from 06. Will keep
an eye out for the Babich (the Kim Crawford should be easy enough to
find).

Cheers,

Salil

thanks for notes. Babich was a QPR favorite, but maybe missed a beat
for a few vintages. Thought the '05 was very nice for price, '06
sounds even better, will look for it.

On Jan 29, 4:40�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On Saturday, we had a number of our friends over for our annual "cellar
> clearance" (cull) party. *Since some of our friends can't or won't drink
> red wine, and since we rarely find ourselves with white wines in the
> cellar that we want to dispose of, we ended up using the occasion to
> sample some NZ SBs from the most recent vintage:
>
> 2006 Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
> nose: intense notes of tropical fruit and gooseberry
> palate: a reprise of the nose, with a slightly herbal quality added in
>
> 2006 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
> n: gooseberries and minerals
> p: somewhat dilute after the Babich; grapefruit
>
> 2006 Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc
> n: muted, grapefruit and grass
> p: more dilute than the Babich or Kim Crawford, mostly grapefruit
>
> 2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
> n: powerful, tropical fruit, grapefruit
> p: grapefruit and gooseberry, grass
>
> I've had a number of previous years of the Babich, including an '01
> tasted at the winery. None of them have come close to what I got from
> the '06. Only the Kim Crawford came close, but of the two I'd say the
> Babich had a bit more refinement to it.
>
> Mark Lipton

PS and the cull report?


On Jan 29, 4:40�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> On Saturday, we had a number of our friends over for our annual "cellar
> clearance" (cull) party. *Since some of our friends can't or won't drink
> red wine, and since we rarely find ourselves with white wines in the
> cellar that we want to dispose of, we ended up using the occasion to
> sample some NZ SBs from the most recent vintage:
>
> 2006 Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
> nose: intense notes of tropical fruit and gooseberry
> palate: a reprise of the nose, with a slightly herbal quality added in
>
> 2006 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc
> n: gooseberries and minerals
> p: somewhat dilute after the Babich; grapefruit
>
> 2006 Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc
> n: muted, grapefruit and grass
> p: more dilute than the Babich or Kim Crawford, mostly grapefruit
>
> 2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc
> n: powerful, tropical fruit, grapefruit
> p: grapefruit and gooseberry, grass
>
> I've had a number of previous years of the Babich, including an '01
> tasted at the winery. None of them have come close to what I got from
> the '06. Only the Kim Crawford came close, but of the two I'd say the
> Babich had a bit more refinement to it.
>
> Mark Lipton

DaleW wrote:
> PS and the cull report?

Patience, Grasshopper! :P I'm in the midst of writing a grant proposal
and a midterm exam, so note transcription is taking a back seat. If you
read WLDG carefully, though, you'll see my WOTN: a '98 Byron Pinot Noir
that we had absolutely *no* expectations for.

Back to the grindstone...
Mark Lipton

> Patience, Grasshopper! :P I'm in the midst of writing a grant proposal
> and a midterm exam, so note transcription is taking a back seat. If you
> read WLDG carefully, though, you'll see my WOTN: a '98 Byron Pinot Noir
> that we had absolutely *no* expectations for.
>
> Back to the grindstone...
> Mark Lipton

Priorities, man! I just looked at 4 grant proposals in progress and
wrote my note on the Barbera!


OK, saw the Byron note. That will hold me for now.