Marlborough, New Zealand-based winery Cloudy Bay has officially released the 2022 vintage of its highly-anticipated Sauvignon Blanc here in Singapore.
If you’ve been waiting for the newest Sauvignon Blanc drop from Cloudy Bay, good news – the Cloudy Bay 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is out on supermarket shelves now. But expect this vintage to taste vastly different from 2021’s excellent release, coming out on the back of a truly conflicting year for New Zealand’s Marlborough winemaking region.
On one hand, 2022 was an improved vintage year over 2021. The 2022 harvest in New Zealand overall produced some 532,000 tonnes of grapes, with virtually every region and key varieties contributing to the production turnaround from the disappointingly small crop last year. “The improved harvest is good news for the industry and customers. Producers will be able to rebuild seriously depleted stocks and sales, while customers should get to see retail shelves restocked once more,” the CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers, Philip Gregan, had shared earlier this year.
On other hand, there were serious weather challenges that affected this year’s harvest. Jackson Estate’s head winemaker, Matt Patterson-Green, had called 2022 a “very different beast” with significant heavy rain events that “truly tested not only the vineyard and winery teams but also the harvesting infrastructure and (their) winery’s ability to process fruit”.
And it was the same for LVMH-owned Cloudy Bay. Its vineyards faced dowsing rain and humidity that required care and diligence in the vineyards to keep berries safe until picking could begin.
For Jim White, Technical Director at Cloudy Bay Vineyards, it was a “white-knuckle ride to the finish”. “It’s these more challenging years that we really see the strength and importance of our vineyard sites,” he said. “Despite the troublesome weather, the fruit was perfect, which is pretty remarkable, really.”
Unlike the 2021 vintage that came off a warm dry season which helped accentuate riper tropical stone fruit notes, the Cloudy Bay 2022 Sauvignon Blanc has a lively, zesty character that’s altogether green citrus. It’s almost zingily frizzante. Even the signature Marlborough gooseberry notes are more restrained this time round.
Cloudy Bay Senior Winemaker Nikolai St George highly recommends keeping a couple of bottles aside to taste again in a few years. And we agree. The bracingly-high acid and steely edge in this vintage is rather reminiscent of quality Sancerre, giving it some measure of ageability.
For this vintage, Cloudy Bay has marked a new chapter by updating its bottle livery. The classic label of yesteryear is now emblazoned with a canvas-type paper stock, with a die-cut silhouette of the iconic Richmond Ranges prominently featured. “We wanted to further embrace the beautiful Richmond Ranges that can be seen from our winery, and which were such a core part of the original Cloudy Bay label,” said Yang Shen, Estate Director for Cloudy Bay.
“The pack represents a refresh and polish of our brand codes, but also a return to our heritage,” he added.
The zingily-fresh Cloudy Bay 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is now available at Cold Storage at the recommended retail price of S$46.
Official Tasting Notes: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022
nose The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc has a zesty and vibrant nose, with notes of juicy citrus and makrut lime underpinned by subtle white nectarine and passionfruit notes.
palate 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.
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