The other weekend we did a blind tasting of 2006 Sauvignon Blanc’s from Highfield & Cloudy Bay. These are two of my favourite wines (Highfield being the better of the two) and both scored 5 stars.
Both wines were lightly chilled and served before and during a meal. Over time a Sauvignon Blanc will “mature” and lose some of it’s “zingy-ness”. The fruity side of things will still be there but there will have been a mellowing of the flavours and the wine usually tastes a little less dry.
Above you can see Highfield on the left and Cloudy Bay on the right. The Cloudy Bay was a darker colour than the Highfield but only slightly.
Highfield Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – The wine still retained a lot of the zingy-ness you’d associate with a quite young wine. There was very little mellowing of the flavours and the wine could have passed for a much younger wine. This was our favourite “before meal” wine.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – The Cloudy Bay had mellowed much more than the Highfield, there was a more complex flavour and the wine tasted very different to a “young” Sauvignon Blanc. This was our preferred wine to have with the meal.
In conclusion, both wines had aged well and tasted great. The Highfield still tasted very young and made a perfect aperitif wine whereas the Cloudy Bay had mellowed over time and went very well with food. Surprisingly in this case I think the Cloudy Bay was the better wine *you all know my love of Highfield). So, Highfield wins when it’s younger, Cloudy Bay wins when it’s older.
Coming soon, Cloudy Bay & Highfield 2007 Taste Test…
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