Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Reviews for the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Cameron Douglas MS: 94/100 (Excellent). Fantastic bouquet, vibrant and fresh with layers of subtlety and finesse, minerality and varietal fruit aromas of lemon and passionfruit, white peach and red apple, fresh herbs and crunchy yellow bell-pepper. Delicious on the palate with a satin touch followed by core fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet, fresh herbs and white spice, mineral and a saline quality. Best drinking from 2023 through 2029.

Bob Campbell, MW (The Real Review): 94/100. Black tie sauvignon. The world’s most famous sauvignon blanc - judged by Internet searches - is undergoing something of a renaissance in both looks and taste. ... Punchy, vibrant wine with restrained passionfruit, lemongrass, capsicum and guava flavours supported by tangy, mouth-watering acidity. The wine is sporting a new proprietary bottle and label which cleverly preserves the shaded hills that were such a feature of the previous label.

Decanter: 93/100. Tasted by: Natasha Hughes MW (at London, 13 Oct 2022). A pungent, punchy nose with plenty of Sauvignon Blanc character. Peach, blackcurrant leaf and kaffir lime leaves are blended with grapefruit zest and tarragon. Linear and bright with a ramrod-straight acidity and a long finish.

NZ Wine Rater (Steve Bennett MW, Lynette Hudson): 93/100. Restrained bouquet with classic nettle and gun flint characters backed up by an array of fruit aromas including grapefruit, kaffir lime, cucumber and yellow capsicum. Lighter-bodied, youthful, subtle wine that is taut, dry and textural with crisp, racy acidity.

James Suckling (JamesSuckling.com): 91/100. Lime peel, sliced green pears, hints of asparagus and lemons. It's bright and crisp with a medium body. Refreshing, showing restraint and focus. Drink now.

Michael Cooper: 25 Not-to-be-missed New Zealand Wines.On sale around the world, New Zealand’s most internationally acclaimed wine is produced in greater volumes than the total output of many of this country’s middle-sized wineries. Cloudy Bay, established in Marlborough in 1985, is now part of the Louis Vuitton Moët-Hennessy luxury goods empire. A refined, weighty wine with deep, ripely herbaceous flavours, it’s a more subtle and sophisticated, less aggressive style than most of its competitors, showing impressive complexity, texture and length. For downright drinkability, it’s hard to beat.

Tasting note

The 2022 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc has a zesty and vibrant nose, with notes of juicy citrus and lime underpinned by subtle white nectarine and passionfruit notes. The palate is mouthwatering, with ripe vibrant passionfruit and citrus at the fore. These meld with tropical hints of peach and guava, gently balanced by stony saline notes.

Aromas and flavours:

Additional information

Type: White wine

Varial: Sauvignon Blanc

Food match: Its richness allows the 2022 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc to excel with food such as seafood, poultry, soft cheeses like goat cheese. Enjoy with asparagus with balsamic vinaigrette, steemped shirmp dumpings or green salad. If it goes with lemon, it will very likely go with this Sauvignon Blanc.

Alcohol: 13.5% vol

Acid: 7.3 g/l

Residual sugar: 1.29 g/l

Bottle size: 0.75l

Notice: contains sulfites

Vineyard: Marlborough, New Zealand. Cloudy Bay's Sauvignon Blanc fruit comes largely from vineyards planted in Wairau Valley’s Rapaura, Renwick and Brancott Valley sub-regions. The area’s warm, dry maritime climate and free-draining gravelly soils are perfect for Sauvignon Blanc. Key blocks include the Estate, Motukawa, Widow's Block, Red Shed, and Mustang vineyards.

Winemaking: Fruit from each vineyard ferments separately before blending, a critical step in maintaining Cloudy Bay’s famous consistency. Rather than blending to make more wine, the winemakers carefully select the right grapes (from over 90 batches) for each year’s wine. This means the quantity may change, but never the quality.

Cellar potential: 2025+

Closure: Screwcap

Produced and bottled by: Cloudy Bay Vineyards Limited, P.O. Box 376, 230 Jacksons Rd, Blenheim 7240, New Zealand