A fruitier Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc for 2016

Marlborough, New Zealand-based winery Cloudy Bay has released the latest vintage of its Sauvignon Blanc for 2016.

If there’s one particular wine that the New Zealand wine industry should be grateful for, it’s the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc. And while it wasn’t Cloudy Bay that was the first winery to plant and produce the first New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, it is really Cloudy Bay that propelled the New Zealand style of Sauvignon Blanc onto the world stage.

Consider this – Sauvignon Blanc comprises over 80% of New Zealand exported wines. The Marlborough wine region of New Zealand on its South Island is home to nearly 60% of all of the country’s grape vines and today produces over 77% of the country’s total wine production. In 1990 the value of New Zealand’s wine exports was NZ$18 million but by 2015 has skyrocketed to over NZ$1.5 billion. So yes, Sauvignon Blanc is huge for New Zealand, and while the LVMH-owned winery is quite revealing what their current production levels are like, it’s going to be a significant chunk of those New Zealand export numbers.

But back to the current vintage. According to Cloudy Bay the 2016 season was one of the driest that Marlborough has experienced; the earlier months of the year were also warmer than usual, allowing the ripening conditions similar to its 2015, 2014, and 2010 seasons.

And those warm months show up in the wine. The Cloudy Bay 2016 Sauvignon Blanc expresses a lot more fruit-forwardness than usual on both bouquet and palate, with big grapefruit and kaffir lime notes on the nose while peach and tangerine infuse the palate. Acidity remains succulent, with the final blend showing 1.7 g/L RS, 3.05 pH and TA 7.3 g/L and an ABV of 13.3%.

The Cloudy Bay 2016 Sauvignon Blanc is now available at all respectable wine merchants, on-premise establishments and retail outlets in Singapore.