Saturday Night – It’s Chardonnay time! Part 2

The other wine we had with the Smoked Salmon was a 2003 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay. This was a wine that I picked up by mistake a couple of years ago thinking it was a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc enjoys a very good reputation as a benchmark for New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and a couple of years ago was very hard to find. So when I saw the Cloudy Bay label I grabbed it and assumed it was a Sauvignon Blanc and not a Chardonnay. Upon returning home and realizing my mistake I wasn’t as excited about my purchase and tossed it on the rack where it has been sitting until now.

"Main Course"

The colour of the wine was very similar to the Kendall Jackson as it was a standard Chardonnay yellow-gold and this is where the similarities ended. The nose of the wine was a massive burnt buttered popcorn aroma that was hard to ignore. Tasting the wine was interesting as the acidity on it was very high which play havoc with the balance of the wine. There was a sour citrus taste and lots of oak to be found as well.

With the Smoked Salmon this wine was nasty, prompting Amy to refer to the wine as “Crappy Bay” for the rest of the night. As it was a poor match with the Salmon, it made to the main course. It was much better with the Veal Scallopini and the pasta; not stunning but definitely more drinkable.

"New Zealand Chardonnay"

Here is the LCBO information –

Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2006

VINTAGES 359513
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 37.95

13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand

By: Cloudy Bay Vineyards

Release Date: Sep 27, 2008

Description - Ranked #6 on Cuisine Magazine's Top Ten New Zealand Chardonnays of 2006. (Issue 128, April 2008)Tasting Note - Out from the shadow cast by the other varietals from this iconic winery, this Chardonnay won its place at the top table with its distinctive Old World scents and generous, rich, nutty palate - a Cloudy Bay Chard trademark. (Cuisine Magazine (New Zealand), April 2008)

Here is what the Wine Spectator has to say about the wine -

CLOUDY BAY Chardonnay Marlborough 2003

Spicy, toasty aromas and flavors prevail in this crisp Chardonnay, hinting at pepper and lime as the creamy finish persists nicely. Drink now through 2008. 2,000 cases imported. –HS

Price $28

Score 88

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark - 82, Kathy – 86, Amy – 79, Overall – 83.

As you can see by the group rating, Amy and myself weren’t enamored with this wine. I loved the LCBO write up “Description - Ranked #6 on Cuisine Magazine's Top Ten New Zealand Chardonnays of 2006. (Issue 128, April 2008)”. Wow 6th out New Zealand’s Top Ten Chardonnays, my gosh I’ll have to run out and buy a truck load of this shit… I hate this type of advertising/write-up. New Zealand is known for Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs not Chardonnays. The Niagara wineries in our area do this too – “Top Ten Niagara Cabernet Sauvignon”. That’s nice but Niagara region can’t make a half decent Cab to save their lives…

The only thing "better" than this is when bottles have a huge freaking sticker on them telling you how this is a “Gold Medal” winner and then you read the really fine print on the bottle and it’s a Gold Medal at the Grimsby Snail Festival and Fair or some other crappy venue where it was a low turn out event and the wine’s competition was lacking.

To be fair to Cloudy Bay, this wine was a 2003 and really should have consumed a couple of years ago.

Click here for Part 3