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More wines available from Cloudy Bay
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Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2019
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$39.96
Vibrant and expressive, with bold Key lime, passion fruit and tangerine flavors that are succulent and show off...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.04
$30.36
Stands out for its intensity, with ruby grapefruit, yuzu and lemon essential oil details, plus notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.79
$30.95
Leaps out of the glass with effusiveness, featuring flavors of apple blossom, Key lime, Honeycrisp, lemon thyme and...
More Details
Winery
Cloudy Bay
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is widely considered to be one of the finest varietals of white wine grapes. The green skinned fruit is notable for ripening relatively early in the year, due to the fact that it prefers milder temperatures and cannot maintain its distinctive flavors in hot climates. As such, it has become a favorite grape varietal for wineries in many very different countries around the world, where it can benefit from brisk, coastal breezes and mild early summers. Sauvignon Blanc is revered for its freshness and zesty character, and generally produces wines which are dry and very crisp on the palate. However, there are a wide variety of wines produced from this wonderfully versatile grape – with many wineries preferring to age the fermented juices in oak, or allowing malolactic fermentation to add a creamier, buttery finish to the grassy and tropical, citrus flavors it often carries.
Region: Marlborough
The Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island is widely regarded as one of the most ideal regions in the world for the production of high quality, flavorful and characterful white wines. The Sauvignon Blanc varietal grapes which are grown there have a long ripening period as a result of the cool climate and brisk oceanic winds, meaning they eventually express plenty of the terroir's features in the bottle alongside their fresh and various fruit flavors The region also supports many other grape varietals, although the most commonly grown grapevines aside from Sauvignon Blanc are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Since the 1970s, Marlborough has consistently impressed the wine world with its produce, and has dominated the New Zealand wine industry, with over sixty percent of the country's vines grown in this beautiful region.
Country: New Zealand
New Zealand has consistently impressed over the past few decades, with many proclaiming this southern country as being the 'pearl' of the New World wine locations. One of the key attributes of New Zealand wines is their wonderful fruit-forward flavors, which make them a favorite with newcomers to wine, as they manage to be deliciously drinkable without posing many challenges. That isn't to say there is little complexity or interesting features to their wines, as one can easily discover through the fantastic range of wines available – from smoky and mineral rich Sauvignon Blancs, to juicy and plummy Pinot Noirs and the beautiful Bordeaux style wines sourced from the excellent Auckland region. New Zealand wineries clearly have a dedication to quality alongside quantity, and such zeal and expertise is quickly helping them become established as world leaders in regards to both domestic sales and exported wines.