Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2012
-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
This wine speaks to me like few Chardonnays do. The frisky 2012 Cloudy Bay begins the festivities with a power rush of dried peach skin and other core fruit goodies, a little bit of oak sneaks in the background; on the palate, this wine is way good as it strikes with dramatic beam of mineral and chalk; the ending is pretty fine and invites the freshest of seafood for a super pairing. (Tasted: May 11, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
-
Wine Spectator
Offers a laser beam of fruit intensity, with Meyer lemon, tangerine and ruby grapefruit flavors, accented by notes of crushed rock and apricot. A vivid, crisp acidity gives the flavors extra focus.
Other Vintages
2017-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
Cloudy Bay Vineyards, established in 1985, is today a partnership between champagne house Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and co-founder of Cape Mentelle Vineyards in Western Australia, David Hohnen. The Cloudy Bay team is committed to producing 'wines of region' and strives to enhance the pure, bracing flavors naturally afforded by the climate and soils of Marlborough. The winery and vineyards are situated in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island. This unique and cool wine region enjoys a maritime climate with the longest hours of sunshine of any place in New Zealand. Cloudy Bay has estate vineyards located at prime sites within the Wairau Valley and long-term supply agreements with five Wairau Valley growers. The main varieties grown are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.