Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2016
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A straightforward effort, the appealing 2016 Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc just come out of the chute with aromas and flavors of grapefruit peel and pungent earth. The wine's crispness makes it an excellent luncheon choice with a cold turkey sandwich. (Tasted: November 16, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2014-
Wilfred
Wong
Named for the sparkling bay where the Awatere River meets the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean, Clifford Bay blends the best of the South Island’s famed Marlborough fruit to produce classic Sauvignon Blancs with signature freshness and distinctive aromatics.
The Marlborough region is home to diverse landscapes: from expansive flat valleys in the Wairau Valley sub-region to the windswept mountains of the Awatere Valley. Sauvignon Blanc grapes are sourced from estate and grower vineyards in each of these distinct Marlborough sub-regions to produce Clifford Bay’s refreshing Sauvignon Blancs that emphasize the lively, tropical fruit flavours of the Wairau Valley.
Since its founding in 1994 Clifford Bay has specialized in Sauvignon Blancs that are finely balanced, refreshing and pure, and which reflect the best of Marlborough and its active, coastal lifestyle.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
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.