New Release: First Taste of Cloudy Bay 2021

Last week I was incredibly fortunate to be invited to the zoom launch of Cloudy Bay’s 2021 release.

Cloudy Bay has forged a reputation for their aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and the 2021 is another excellent example with immense precision and purity. There is the classic passionfruit on the nose but also layers of lemon grass, kiwi, underripe white peach and a backbone of fresh minerality and citrus lime to keep it light, underpinned by a mouth-watering acidity throughout.

There is more concentration than the 2020 and, for those who know their Cloudy Bay, it is quite similar to their 2019.

When asked about the vintage technical director Jim White said with relief “it wasn’t 2020”. There were no disruptions or distractions, and they had a ready supply of “covid refugees” – workers who were unable to travel home and were therefore available with prior knowledge to work the next harvest too. This was a boon during a tricky time as a key issue for Marlborough vineyards was labour shortages, especially for estates like Cloudy Bay who hand harvest.

We compared the 2021 to the 2017 which was warmer on the nose with the lowest sugar levels harvested yet. Noticeably greener there were gooseberry, lemongrass, lemon curd, and lime cordial notes. It was a leaner, greener wine altogether - in fact it tasted very much like a slice of key lime pie, with emphasis on the lime!

Of course, 2020 was a record sales year for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and with smaller yields and depleted reserves there is going to be a Kiwi Savvy B shortage coming our way. So, what else would they grow?

“Other aromatics, like Riesling” says White “but this is a region made for Sauvignon Blanc, it is a match made in heaven”.

So, if you have Cloudy Bay at home, perhaps hold back from their temptation for a while and save what you have. Sauvignon Blanc is not typically released as a wine to age but White says “I actually really like them at 10-12 years old. Good quality wines can age like a Hunter Valley Semillon and take on honey notes and a roundness but with a fresh acidity”.

We also tried two vintages of their Te Koko, which was first created in the late 1990s as an oak-aged cuvée from the best vineyard sites. It was totally different to any other wines made until then with a buttery, rich texture and they become known not as the typically crisp and lean Sauvignon Blanc but wines of more width and roundness.

However, in 2016 the style was further refined having got rid of the old oak from the 80s and now more changes are being implemented to refresh these wines.

They looked at their winemaking and the vineyards, honing it down to parcels from 4 of their vineyards and returning to hand harvesting. To Koko uses vines which are relatively old for Marlborough, the eldest being from 1991. They are moving away from the richer style by reducing the malolactic fermentation and upscaling the oak formats with only 8% new oak to retain freshness and dryness in the wine.

The Te Koko 2019 has a delicious nose of sea salt and marmite, smoke and blossom, aged lemons and buttered nectarines and marmalade on toast. On the palate there is a smoky, salty backbone but its buttery and dry with a warm stone elegance. For me, this was my pick of the bunch for sophisticated Sauvignon with longevity.

We compared it to the 2016 which had an almost durian-like nose, but thankfully it was subtle, with blossom, lemon and lime. On the palate I got a mix of butterscotch, flint and stone with a structure for food.

Overall Cloudy Bay are “looking for more purity and ‘sauvignon-ness’ going forward, which is more reflective of terroir rather than the hand of the winemaker” says White “ultimately that is what we are trying to express with our wines”.

The wines are available at Majestic, Harrods and Laithwaites.