written by degbert on 31/10/2009
Ohhhhhhhh yes. This is something quite special, quite special indeed. There are plenty of good, fresh, big fat Kiwi Sauvignons out there. If you can afford it, Cloudy Bay is the daddy (or so they say). But there are plenty of vineyards that will charge less than half the price of a 20 quid Cloudy Bay and deliver a comparable level of flinty, fruity and memorable Sauvignons.
One of my personal favourites, The Ned (the name of the local mountain) nails all of this, with some cut grass and lime fruit taste, a limestone flora nose, but all well balanced, nice and fresh, with a very clean finish.
Relatively difficult to get hold of until recently, you can pick this up from suppliers and retailers alike nowadays. It sits justifiably alongside the better Kiwi offerings, because that's exactly what it is.