Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer, Marlborough

Description

Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer is an aromatic white wine made at Cloudy Bay Vineyards in New Zealand. It is only ever made in very limited quantities.

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 Vineyards

The winemaking philosophy for Cloudy Bay Te Koko is very much ‘hands off’, and is the result of winemaking curiosity. 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes are sourced from some of Cloudy Bay’s oldest vines across four distinguished vineyards, producing grapes with high concentration and elegant, pure-fruited aromatics. These vineyards are in sub-regions where there are free-draining gravel-based soils with shallow sandy-loam horizons.

Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer

Cloudy Bay Gewurztraminer is a distinctive style, first made in 1997 from a trial block planted at Cloudy Bay to assess the suitability of various clones of Gewurztraminer in Marlborough. It is produced from fruit hand-harvested grapes grown at vineyards in Rapaura the Brancott Valley.

The grapes are fermented using indigenous yeasts (this is often known as “wild ferment”)  in old French oak barrels. The wine is then aged for around 2 years with an extended period on the lees which adds depth and a creamy texture.