2006 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay

The 2006 Chardonnay was the earliest vintage on record with budburst 2-3 weeks earlier than usual. The nose is lacking a little personality at first but reluctantly reveals minerals, a slight chalkiness and a touch of mandarin that intensifies with a few swirls of the glass. The palate is viscous, buttery and quite honeyed towards the spice-tinged finish. It just lacks the tautness and the tension of top quality Chardonnay. Cloudy Bay needs no introduction: unquestionably the winery that put New Zealand on the international map and presciently understood the aesthetic appeal of an emotive label. Now part of the LVMH portfolio, the winery is a magnet for visitors to Marlborough. They farm around 200 hectares of vines in the Wairau Valley, Renwick and Omaka Valleys augmented by five grape-growers under long-term contracts. Of course historical significance bears nothing upon my evaluation and whilst there is nothing particularly wrong with Cloudy Bay’s range, they lacked the thrills and perhaps the soul of other New Zealand wines that I encountered, as if the wines err on the side of caution in order not to imperil its worldwide reputation. In essence, I would like to see less of “Cloudy Bay” the brand and more of Kevin Judd, the talented winemaker. Importer: Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY; tel. (212) 251-8200