Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014

new zealand sauvignon blanc

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014

cloudy bay sauvignon blanc

I’ve tasted this – the new version of the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – three times in the last week. I think it’s one of the best ever. I know that it’s a brand that has enjoyed celebrity status in the UK, so much so that it has even had to be allocated and/or bundled by retailers, because everyone wants some. And it hasn’t always lived up to the reputation. But the 2014 vintage is a classic example of top-quality Marlborough Sauvignon, with exotic notes yet also lots of finesse. You pay for the quality, of course (around £20 retail), but it’s just such a lovely wine with a great back story.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Marlborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Really aromatic with lovely green pepper and grapefruit as well as some exotic passionfruit notes. Quite delicate and expressive with lovely balance. Real finesse on the palate with the riper, more tropical notes balanced by fine, mineral, chalky and subtly green notes. I’d buy and drink this as young as possible for the lovely delicate aromatics, or I’d cellar it to get something rather different – a 1996 tasted recently was lovely. 92/100

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6 Comments on Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014Tagged ,
wine journalist and flavour obsessive

6 thoughts on “Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2014

  1. I’m not sure if it’s an area you’ve addressed in the past Jamie, but I wonder how bottle variation might affect a wine like this?
    You’ve tried in 3 times in the course of a week, so it’s likely that all 3 were from the first shipment, though probably not the same tank, and clearly been very impressed.
    But this is a wine that turns out 2 million bottles a year; is the “recipe” so easily replicated on such a large scale, or is there much room for differences between batches to lead to a much less favourable conclusion from other bottles?
    Obviously a point that is valid for all large-scale wines, but one that I think is interesting nonetheless.

  2. That’s an excellent point, and it’s not something we usually address as wine writers. I guess NV Champagne is an even better example, where we talk about wines without knowing which base vintage and which blend we are dealing with. It would be fun to do some triangle tests with bottles sourced from different outlets at different times – but then there are other factors that could create variation, too.

  3. Well there you go; one for the future! Incidentally, read recently the 3 guys that review for the Wine Front in Oz (Campbell Mattinson, Gary Walsh & Mike Bennie) are refusing to review any Champagne that doesn’t disclose its disgorgement date, echoing your point on that raft of wines.
    Now it would be the stuff of conspiracy theory to suggest that the “big boys” could send out slightly “different” wines before a release to the critics I suppose?! 😉

  4. Its funny cause nobody gives a crap about that anymore .. over here.. because.. its too over priced for what it is

  5. Jason, your comment is particularly funny given Robert Joseph’s blog comment today. If people are still prepared to pay £20 for Cloudy Bay year after year, it’s not “overpriced” clearly!
    What we were saying is how, given the volume of production, how well (or possibly not) the quality level holds up.

  6. Just opened my last bottle of 1996 cloudy bay Sauvignon blancI
    I was exoecting it to be past it
    but no! It was lovely! still teasing the fresh gooseberry flavour
    But with a complex undertone
    Yes was my bottle from the same production cask or is it just the vintage was there for the long haul
    Hope this helps

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