Cloudy Bay has the distinction of being a “region defining” wine. It helped put the Marlborough wine region, and its unique sauvignon blanc, on the world vinous map. I was therefore interested to try a “Cloudy Bay”, as I don’t recall having done so previously. Cloudy Bay is now owned by French multinational, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy.
What then of the 2010 vintage of this wine? It was more restrained than I was expecting, though it was served quite cold. It had a medium intensity aroma of tinned asparagus and gooseberry on the nose, the former being an aroma I do not particularly enjoy. On the palate, medium-high acidity, citrus and light passionfruit rounded out this apparently restrained, but well-made, expression of Marlborough sauvignon blanc. In this guise, or perhaps this temperature, I unexpectedly found this wine to resemble a little more closely the Sancerre interpretation of the grape. 84 points
Abv: 13.5%
Price: $30
Website: http://www.cloudybay.co.nz
Tasted: December 2011
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