Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough

Description

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is quite simply the iconic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Cloudy Bay is one of the pioneering wineries in the region and played a crucial role in establishing New Zealand’s reputation for producing high-quality Sauvignon Blanc. This wine has gained international acclaim for its distinctive style and quality.

Cloudy Bay Vineyards was established in 1985 by Kevin Judd and David Hohnen of Cape Mentelle Vineyards in Western Australia, and is today part of Estates & Wines (owned by LVMH). The 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 has estate vineyards located at prime sites within the Wairau Valley as well as long-term supply agreements with local growers.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc has become an international benchmark wine noted for its vibrant aromatics, layers of pure fruit flavours and fine structure. Grapes are sourced from Cloudy Bay Estate vineyard in Rapaura, the “Widow’s Block” in Renwick, the “Mustang” vineyard in Brancott Valley and the “Barracks Block” in the Omaka Valley. These sources are supplemented by fruit from a small number of long-time contract growers. Free draining, stony soils typify the Rapaura and Renwick areas whilst Fairhall and Brancott are predominantly aged alluvial loams containing some clay.

The grapes for Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc were de-stemmed and transferred straight to tank presses within hours of picking. Following harvest, the free-run juice was cold settled for 48-72 hours before racking. Fermentation was primarily carried out in stainless steel tanks with a mixture of cultured yeasts and wild yeast, six or seven different yeasts in total with 5% lees stirring and a 5% oak component.