Brancott Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2003

[Susan in FL]

Even as we speak, we are in the midst of an evening-long multi-course meal, of mostly white wine and food pairings. When I called my husband at work with the shopping list, I asked him to get a Brancott Sauvignon Blanc if he could find it, or other New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, for the mussels in a ginger and lemongrass broth I was making. He came home with a 2003 (?!). This was pretty outrageous... We opened it, smelled it, and we looked at each other. We tasted it, and we looked at each other... This wine tastes like mussels!

What's up with this?!

[tommy]

you're joking, right?

brancott has been relatively consisent over the last few years (or am i thinking 98-2000?). sounds like quite a departure to say the least!

Edited January 31, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Susan in FL]

No, I am not joking.

[tommy]

if 2003 goes down as new zealand's "year of mussel wine", they'll probably lose a lot of momentum. i gotta get me a bottle of this mussel wine. pronto.

[Susan in FL]

I didn't mean it as a negative thing... just rather odd, and I can't say I would like this with any food. It was just a crazy good match for tonight, with this food, at this time. Also noteworthy to us was the bottle shape... like halfway between the two styles of bottles.

On the more serious side, it was quite melony, a little grapefruity, and zingy.

Yes, you go guy, flex your mussels.

[tommy]

have you had past years? if so, was it much different? i'm trying to figure out how that mussel thing fits in with the profile that i know. this is killing me. i can't wait til the wine stores open tomorrow! i just hope they have 2003.

[Susan in FL]

We've had Bancott Sauvignon Blanc one other time, but I'm sorry to say I don't know what year. This is too much fun... I don't know if you will have any idea what I'm talking about, but anyway, let me know if you get a bottle of 2003 and what you think.

Now we're finishing our dinner with a glass of Port and some chocolate truffles. After all that white whine LOL ...this Warre's is tastying real fine.

[tommy]

hmmm. i tasted the 2003 and i didn't get "mussels". it had the same characteristics as most other NZ SBs. the finish was a little less pleasant than that of past years. definitely no mussels. maybe you just had mussels-on-the-brain.

[Susan in FL]

maybe you just had mussels-on-the-brain.

I think you are right. That's what too much white wine will do to you. It felt good to get back to red meat and red wine tonight.

Thanks for the follow-up!

[clifford]

As a newbie to the board, I can see that I have a lot to learn about e-gulleters.

It never ocurred to me to actual post WHILE I ate!

That being said, I am chilling down a bottle of '03 Brancott RIGHT NOW, and I also happen to have some PEI mussels in the fridge.

I will attempt to recreate Susan in FL mussel/wine experiment and post in short order.

edited because I am a tarrible speler

Edited February 1, 2004 by clifford (log)

[Scott]

Hi Susan,

I suspect the reason is the vintage. 2003 was very hot, and importantly the temperatures at night were warm also, upsetting the acid balance. the fruit in the sauvignons certainly suffered as the thin skins lead to a singeing of the underlying fruit. I have found overly ripe, soupy tropical flavours mostly, but I can see where you would be coming from with mussels.

[Susan in FL]

Hi Susan,

I suspect the reason is the vintage.  2003 was very hot, and importantly the temperatures at night were warm also, upsetting the acid balance. the fruit in the sauvignons certainly suffered as the thin skins lead to a singeing of the underlying fruit.  I have found overly ripe, soupy tropical flavours mostly, but I can see where you would be coming from with mussels.

Nice to get a possible explanation. Thanks for the post.

Clifford, did you get a hint of this "match"?

[Susan in FL]

I've been thinking further about this. Muscadet used to be one of the wines of choice for us to go with some shellfish dishes. It probably still would be if there were a better selection of good ones in this area. My husband just returned from a trip north, and brought a couple of bottles home with him, and one is described as having "briny notes." That makes sense ...maybe the Brancott Sauvignon Blanc had "briny notes." That sounds so much better than "tastes like mussels."

Among other things he also brought home Chincoteague oysters and tonight we're having oysters and bubbly and oysters and Muscadet de Sevre and oysters and stout.

[pjs]

Also noteworthy to us was the bottle shape... like halfway between the two styles of bottles.

The bottle shape is ambiguous because Brancott uses the same bottle for their Pinot Noir, which I actually like. At least the current Pinot Noir is a 2002.

PJ

[Mark Sommelier]

Brancott has been described to me as the "Gallo of New Zealand". They have a very large output. I have used their wines in the past as by the glass pours, but Cloudy Bay is the more recognizable of the NZ SB's.

[tommy]

i find cloudy bay ridiculously and offensively over-priced. given the amount of wines coming out of NZ these days, there are plenty of more reasonably priced choices, often times at less than half of what you'd pay for cloudy bay. additionally, i haven't found cloudy bay's recent vintages to be all that special when compared to the 97/98 or so, when they first started becoming popular.

Edited February 10, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Susan in FL]

I haven't had Cloudy Bay, but I love the phrase you coined, "ridiculously and offensively over-priced"! I hope you don't mind if I borrow that some time.

[tommy]

I haven't had Cloudy Bay, but I love the phrase you coined, "ridiculously and offensively over-priced"! I hope you don't mind if I borrow that some time.

just be careful, as others will surely not agree.

[Mark Sommelier]

i find cloudy bay ridiculously and offensively over-priced. given the amount of wines coming out of NZ these days, there are plenty of more reasonably priced choices, often times at less than half of what you'd pay for cloudy bay. additionally, i haven't found cloudy bay's recent vintages to be all that special when compared to the 97/98 or so, when they first started becoming popular.

There's a reason for that. Cloudy Bay is distributed worldwide by Veuve Clicquot/LVMH. They are not shy about charging.