The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2009 has recently been awarded Blue Gold and ranked in the Top 100 at this year’s Sydney International Wine Show, which is one of the few shows in the world to judge wines based on their ‘food-friendly’ characteristics. Blue-Gold Medals are awarded to the highest scoring Gold Medal wines selected from the 2000 wines submitted for judging.

“It’s another plaudit for our Sauvignon Blanc which, thanks to this year’s exceptional vintage, we’ve described as bright vibrant, energy in the bottle. It’s that good!” said The Ned proprietor, Brent Marris. This single vineyard wine has subtle fruit sweetness against acidity, giving a soft yet dry finish.

It’s just the fourth vintage for The Ned, the label established by Brent in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley. “Our Sauvignon Blanc is instantly recognisable for its pure Marlborough flavours and it’s a perfect match with seafood so we’re very pleased with this recognition from the main Australian wine event that guides consumer choice,” he said.

Here’s what the judges had to say about The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2009:

Warren Gibson
Vibrant and lifted. It seems very youthful with fermentation esters apparent. Some greener notes on the palate. Good vibrant acidity. Excellent match with the goat cheese flavours and a beautifully lingering food match.

Liam McElhinney
Lime and currant aromas. Quite dominant on the nose. Very complex aromas with hints of minerality showing through. The palate was quite focused. Very mineral driven flavours. Quite good persistence. The acidity of the wine was well matched with the cheese, however the herbal marriage of the cheese and the wine was missing.

Steve Flamstead
Fresh lychees. Some residual sugar. A juicy palate. Full of fruit with hints of tropical.

Peter Marks
A little subdued at the beginning. Maybe some creamy character on the palate, maybe even some neutral oak that might have subdued the fruit a little bit.  The goat cheese roulade tended to overwhelm the wine a bit but at the same time there was a creamy texture that the food seemed to bring out in the wine which complemented the food very nicely.

Tony Allen
Very ripe on the nose. Almost shows a Muscat on the front of the palate. Has lots of sherbet lemon acidity and concentration on the mid palate. It accentuated several flavours within the dish and refreshed the mouth.

Source: thened.co.nz and top100wines.com