2024 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
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Tasting notes
The 2024 Sauvignon Blanc marks the 40th vintage for this estate in Marlborough, and the wine leads with green apple, a salsa verde-esque note (think green chilli, coriander, lime, etc.) and white pineapple. In the mouth, the wine is punchy and crunchy, with loads of acid, but there is also attractive, chalky texture on the mid-palate. It's a smart wine, as usual. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Full screwcapped bottle 1,494 g. 100% Sauvignon Blanc largely from vineyards planted on the Wairau Valley floor, grown in free-draining gravelly soils. Fermented primarily in stainless-steel tanks, with around 1.5% of the blend fermented in large-format oak vats. A portion was also fermented using ambient yeast. Winemaker Daniel Sorrell. TA 6.4 g/l, pH 3.1, RS 2.4 g/l. Available in up to 200 shops. I tasted my first bottle of Cloudy Bay from the 1986 vintage, so for me this is the 39th iteration of this ground-breaking wine. It has become almost fair game to knock Cloudy Bay today but I remain a fan. Delicate and restrained, this needs time in bottle (I have aged many vintages of Cloudy Bay for over 10 years and they definitely get better). Leafy, citrus acidity, a touch of lime zest. All very refined and elegant. (AWH)
Mostly machine-harvested. Free-run juice was cold-settled before racking and inoculation with selected yeast. Fermentation primarily in stainless-steel tanks, with around 1.5% of the blend fermented at warmer temperatures in large-format oak vats. Aromas of passion fruit, flowers, candied green apple and white peach. Green-apple and passion-fruit flavours mix with a hint of lime pith and a faint sweetness that has a faintly saline green-apple-skin counterpoint. Silky texture. (AY)
Full screwcapped bottle 1,377 g. The fortieth vintage of this famous wine, whose debut vintage was 1985. Extremely dry summer required regular irrigation but produced healthy fruit with an early harvest. Free-run juice was cold-settled before fermentation all in tank except for 1.5% fermented warmer in large oak. A portion saw spontaneous fermentation. 55 of 81 possible ingredients went into this blend. Powerfully pungent nose that could only be Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Very powerful with lots of vibrant green-fruit flavours. Just off dry. No that long but lots of impact on the nose and palate entry. (JR)