Cloudy Bay Pelorus Vintage Brut, Marlborough

Description

Cloudy Bay Pelorus is a sparkling wine from New Zealand made in the traditional method with a secondary fermentation in the bottle.

Cloudy Bay: A New Zealand Pioneer

Cloudy Bay Vineyards was established in 1985 by Kevin Judd (now at Greywacke in NZ) and David Hohnen (then of Cape Mentelle Vineyards, now at McHenry Hohnen in Western Australia), and is today part of Estates & Wines, which is owned by the massive luxury goods company Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy.

The Cloudy Bay winery and vineyards are situated in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough at the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island. This unique and cool wine region enjoys a maritime climate with the longest hours of sunshine of any place in New Zealand.

Cloudy Bay Pelorus

Made in limited quantities since 1987, Cloudy Bay Pelorus Vintage is a complex blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Released at four years of age, the style is generous and full-bodied, brimming with richly concentrated fruit and a creamy mousse. The final assemblage is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.

Why Is It Called Pelorus?

Pelorus Jack was a famous dolphin who, for more than 20 years around the turn of the last century, met the steamers crossing between the two main islands of New Zealand and escorted them through the Marlborough Sounds. His descendants abound in the waters of Cloudy Bay, and their image has become the symbol of Pelorus.