Cloudy Bay 2005 Gewürztraminer

Cloudy Bay 2005 GewürztraminerI haven’t done a wine post for a while, mostly because I’ve been a bit lazy. But I had to get my act together for this one. Having had so much fun with the Stonecroft Gewürztraminer from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, I thought I’d try this one from the famous Cloudy Bay winery in NZ’s Marlborough region.

We took this bottle to our favourite Thai restaurant, knowing that the spiciness of the wine would suit the food. I had a spicy duck stir fry, which was dressed with a touch of Thai red curry and coconut cream, and M. had a vege stir fry with cashew nuts (her favourite). The food was excellent as usual, and complemented the wine nicely.

Firstly, this is a very different beast to the Stonecroft. It has that lemon-lime citrusy aroma, with a hint of jasmine, and maybe orange blossom this time. The taste is immediately sharper, with the spice hitting up front, over layers of honeydew melon and lychees. There’s some slightly chalky minerality mixed in, and a merest hint of fermentation fizz. And there’s a hint of sweetness, and an orange marmalade bitterness at the back end, mixed with black pepper spiciness. Again, there’s heaps going on, and it makes for an incredibly complex range of sensations.

Interestingly, M. didn’t like this one much, despite really enjoying the Stonecroft version. I could tell they were very different, and I have to agree the Stonecroft is more to my liking, but I enjoyed the complexity and flavours in this one too. I guess I’ll stick with Cloudy Bay for top-notch Sauvignon blanc, but go further afield for Gewürz.

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