Chardonnay

Pork, Rich fish (salmon, tuna etc), Vegetarian, Poultry

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.

Our Chardonnay comes from a combination of vineyards, chosen for their complementary soil types. The warm gravelly soils of the Wairau Valley and the cooler clay soils of the Southern Valleys are used in unison to provide a great balance of ripeness and elegance. The key vineyards include Barracks, Motukawa, Estate, Mustang, and Brook Street, with clones used across the B95, 15, 2/23, 548 and Mendoza blocks.

After fermentation, the wine rested in barrel for 11 months before blending 100% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation.

After gentle pressing, the juice was settled and racked before being transferred to French oak barriques (of which 15% were new) and new 6-kilolitre cuves. Half of the batches were put into barrels with full solids (without racking).