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A BLANC PAGE

Yesterday we conducted our ann= ual blind NZ Sauvignon Blanc tasting. Tasters were offered 18 wines in three flights of 6. We awarded 2 pts each time a wine was picked as “flight favourite” and 2 pts each time a wine was picked as “overall favourite”. We also looked to see whether any wines = were strongly disliked as tasters were asked to indicate “least favourite” by fl= ight and overall.

Wines were divided broadly into categories :

Fl= ight A: The less expensive sauvignons i= n our range, plus Monkey Bay from Cold Storage.

Fl= ight B: “Premium” sauvignon – though = there is quite a price range

Fl= ight C: “Different” sauvignons - relati= ng to vineyard location, or winemaking style

You pay for what you get in ge= neral BUT

· brand power is an amazing thing

· there are bargains out there

Based on this tasting I’d have= to say as a general rule we don’t much like our Sauvignon being tinkered with = here in Singapore, but on to

THE RESULTS

THE WINNER

The Ned 2010 – 36 points<= /o:p>

THE RUNNERS UP

Ata Rangi 2010 – 30 points

Wither Hills 2010 – 18 points<= o:p>

Palliser Estate 2010 and Dog P= oint 2008 – 16 points

THE WOODEN SPOON

Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Semillon 2007 – 0 points…

…and quite a lot of “least-lik= ed” points too. Oops.

WHAT ABOUT CLOUDY BAY?

Cloudy Bay 2009 came last in i= ts flight by some considerable way, and was 17^th in the tasting. Amazing. Its sister wine Te Koko 2= 007 did much better at 7=3D, and was definitely the most liked of the oaked/aged, m= ore “crafted” wines.

Other bloopers (at 15=3D) were= Momo 2009 and Monkey Bay 2009.

AND THE FLIGHTS?

Although Flight A took just ov= er 1/3 of the votes but The Ned polled nearly half of those votes. The other wines scored very similarly.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Monkey Bay, from Cold Storage, came las= t in the flight.

Flight B took slightly more vo= tes than Flight A, but 5 of the wines outscored all but the Ned from the previo= us flight. Wither Hills won by one vote, taking 18 points, which placed it thi= rd in the tasting overall. Four of the other premium SBs in this flight took positions 4 – 7 in the tasting.

Flight C took 70 points, and h= ad a couple of wines that polarized opinion. First I must say that absolutely NO= NE of those present liked the Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Semillon from Waipara in t= he Canterbury region. This was the on= ly wine in the tasting that not only got no votes for favourite in either flig= ht or overall tasting but also got LOTS of thumbs down as least-liked wine. It is very different from most other NZ sauvignons, in that it is partly Semillon, and it spends time in oak, and is released later. Not a fresh, bright, brash young-drinking sauvignon… and pa= rticipants hated it.

The standout wine in Flight C = and also easily the number 2 wine in the overall tasting was Ata Rangi’s from Martinborough, which took 30 points. Te Koko and Villa Maria’s Reserve Wair= au Valley wines scored equally with Villa Maria’s Cellar Selection at 7=3D, bu= t are relatively expensive wines. Momo unfortunately tied with…Monkey Bay from Cold Storage at 15=3D. <= /span>

RANKING<= /b>

The Ned 2010                                 (A1)      36 points          $29.90

Ata Rangi 2010             (C6)      30 points          $3= 4.00

Wither Hills 2010         (B3)      18 points           $32.90

Palliser Estate 2010    (B2)   =    16 points           $32.90

Dog Point 2009            (B6)      16 points           $35.00

St. Clair 2010                  (B5)      14 points           $= 39.00

Villa Maria                       (B4)      <= /span>12 points           $34.90

Cellar Selection 2009

Te Koko 2007                                 (C2)      12 points           $82.00

Villa Maria Reserve    (C4)   =    12 points           $47.90

Wairau Valley 2008<= /span>

Pencarrow 2008          (A2)      11 points            $29.90<= /span>

Villa Maria Gravel       (C5)      10 points           $49.90

Lane Single Vineyard 2009=

Villa Maria                       (A3)      10 points           $40.90

Private Bin 2010

Trinity Hill                        (A4)     8 points             $29.90

Hawke’s Bay 2010

Two Tracks 2010          (A6)     7 points             $24.90=

Momo 2009                    (C1)       6 points             $40.00=

Monkey Bay 2009       (A5)      6 points             $26.95=

Cloudy Bay 2009          (B1)       4 points             $58.00=

Pegasus Bay 2007       (C2) …thanks for coming ;-) $ 39.90<= o:p>

The Ned is owned and run by Br= ent Marris, the founder of Wither Hills and one of New Zealand’s best winemaker= s. There are three wines in the range, and I would commend both the Pinot Gris= and Pinot Noir to you also. To find ou= t more – take a look at their website www.thened.co.nz

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

To “reward” the winners – and = those that would like to drink to their success we will make the following case offers good till the end of February.

The Ned Mixed Case<= /span>

Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – 4 bottl= es

Pinot Gris 2009 – 4 bottles

Pinot Noir 2008 – 4 bottles

Usual price $ 386.80

SPECIAL FEBRUARY PRICE – $355.00

Ata Rangi Mixed Case

Ata Rangi’s Sauvignon Blanc wa= s a big hit when winemaker Helen Masters came through late last year – so we ad= ded it to our range. We also added their Petrie Chardonnay which has more minerality and is more Chablisienne (my word…) than the creamier richer and also delicious Craighall, and their Pinot Gris.

Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – 4 bottles=

Petrie Chardonnay 2009 – 4 bottles

Summer Rose 2009 – 4 bottles

Usual price $427.20=

FEBRUARY PRICE $395.00

Wither Hills Mixed Case

Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – 6 bottle= s

Pinot Noir 2007 – 6 bottle= s

Usual price $466.80=

FEBRUARY PRICE $410.00

<= /p>
For our full wine price list, please click here!<= /span>

To order - please contact Audrey at 6464 9909 or orders@thecellardoor.com.sg=

Or call in at the Deli in VivoCity at 6463 5296

– first floor to reserve & pay. Door “E” just after t= he Golden Village entrance will bring you into the complex directly opposite u= s on the first floor.

The Ce= llar Door Deli and Wine Cafe

1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-108/109 VivoCity

Singap= ore 098585. Tel: 6463 5296

&= nbsp;

The Ce= llar Door Office

192 Pa= ndan Loop, #02-33, Pantech Business Hub

Singap= ore 128381. Tel: 6464 9909

<= span style=3D'text-decoration:none'>

www.thecellardoor.com.sg

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