Cloudy Bay Vineyards

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New Zealand‘s Cloudy Bay Vineyards produces a well-known Sauvignon Blanc. Its first commercial vintage was produced in 1985 from purchased grapes, and the company later planted its own vineyards. One of the first New Zealand wines to be widely exported, it became a virtual "cult" item, particularly in Britain and the U.S., because of its bold and fruit-forward style, its structure, its balance, and its complexity; the classic French Sauvignon Blancs from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire Valley and the Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon white blends from Bordeaux were typically more acidic and austere.

However, opinion is mixed about Cloudy Bay. While one wine critic compared drinking Cloudy Bay Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc to hearing Glenn Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations (Taber, p. 244), and Robert M. Parker, Jr. and Wine Spectator magazine found the Cloudy Bay style much to their liking, others are less enthusiastic, considering its fruit-forward character one-dimensional^{[citation needed]}.

Cloudy Bay’s 140 hectares of vineyards are located at three sites in the winegrowing region of Marlborough, including areas close to the bay for which they are named. The region is considered highly favorable for the growth of Sauvignon Blanc grapes (Taber, p. 244). The vines are planted on deep alluvial gravels. Five long-term contract growers also work closely with Cloudy Bay.

Cloudy Bay also makes a popular Chardonnay, but the Sauvignon Blanc remains its standard-bearer.

Cloudy Bay Vineyards is now owned by the multinational luxury goods firm LVMH (Louis Vuitton Möet Hennessy) through its champagne house Veuve Clicquot, and which exports to 20 countries around the world, with the largest markets being Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Europe and Japan.

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Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
Cloudy Bay Vineyards