2020 Cloudy Bay, Te Koko, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand

An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp  Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves. It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.

Established in 1985, Cloudy Bay is pivotal in thrusting New Zealand’s Marlborough region into the global limelight of winemaking excellence. Nestled within the picturesque Wairau Valley, gracing the northern expanse of New Zealand’s South Island, this estate basks in the embrace of a cool climate and optimal grape-growing conditions.