CLOUDY BAY Chardonnay
The plaudits go to our vineyard workers whose proactive shoot thinning back in November encouraged ripeness before the rains arrived shortly after the Harvest end.
Harvest
The harvest of Chardonnay began on March 9th and was completed by April 1st. The timing was perfect as significant rainfall arrived on the 9th of April.
Vinification
After gentle pressing, the juice was 100% barrel fermented in French oak. The wine remained in barrel for one year of maturation (18% new oak). Regular lees stirring was used in order to build aromatic complexity. The wine naturally went through 70% malo-lactic conversion. The final blend was compiled in January 2014 and bottled the following June.
Origin: Cloudy Bay
Established in 1985, Cloudy Bay was one of the first five wine makers to venture into Marlborough. At the time, it was almost an unimaginable place to set-up a vineyard. But Cloudy Bay’s founder – David Hohnen – was convinced of its potential to produce great wine and invested in the best land of the region. Since then, Marlborough has risen to become New Zealand’s leading wine region, as well as one of the finest winemaking locations in the world.
The winery was named after Cloudy Bay, a body of water explorer Captain James Cook came across during his voyage to New Zealand in 1770. His discovery coincided with flooding in the region, which washed large amounts of sediment into the sea. Noticing the water’s opaque appearance, Cook cleverly christened the area Cloudy Bay.
Today, Cloudy Bay not only captures the essence of Marlborough but also embodies New Zealand’s luxury to the world. The luxury of space and time, of intimate moments and nature’s rarest qualities.
