40 years of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand’s most famous wine, the Marlborough icon, hits middle age
It was back in 1985 that the first vintage of one of the world’s most famous wines was produced. And the release of the 2024 represents the 40th vintage of this wine. It’s Cloudy Bay’s Sauvignon Blanc.
You may contest my assertion that this is one of the world’s most famous wines, but I think it’s hard to overstate its significance. It wasn’t the first Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough – that distinction goes to Montana’s (now Brancott) 1977 Sauvignon Blanc. And it wasn’t even the first to gain international recognition – that distinction goes to Hunter’s with their 1982 Sauvignon Blanc that achieved success in London. But Cloudy Bay was the wine that made this region famous.
It was started by an Australian, David Hohnen, who some time earlier had founded Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle. In 1983 there was a technical conference in Perth. Some Kiwi winemakers came down to Margaret River to taste a bit from barrel, and left some bottles of Sauvignon Blanc: Hohnen was amazed by the wine. ‘It was a bit sugary sweet, but the aromatics were amazing,’ he recalls. In 1984 he visited New Zealand to see for himself where these remarkable wines had come from, attending the Auckland wine show. There he met Kevin Judd, who was then working for Selaks. Determined to go ahead with his own Marlborough winery venture, Hohnen raised Aus$1million in finance, at a crazy interest rate of 23%. Within a year, the bank he had borrowed from was broke, so he refinanced. 1985 was the first Cloudy Bay: he purchased 40 tons of grapes and made the wine up in Gisborne. In 1986 Judd constructed a winery and they signed up for 120 tons a year from Corbans. The ball was rolling.
I remember tasting Cloudy Bay for the first time in the early 1990s, and it was different. While Montana’s Sauvignon Blanc was a lovely example of the Marlborough style, Cloudy Bay had the volume knob turned up higher, and offered a remarkable blast of that Marlborough character: green pepper, elderflower, citrus and passionfruit, with all the flavours held in check by a lick of keen acidity. The wine captured peoples’ imagination with its distinctive label and evocative name.
Cloudy Bay became part of the LVMH portfolio in 2003, although its ownership is actually 66% Moët-Hennessy (the wine and spirits arm of LVMH) and 34% Diageo, because of the ownership of Cloudy Bay Vineyards LTD by a joint company for luxury goods called Moët-Hennessy Diageo, based in Japan and Hong Kong. Since then it has grown significantly, and has been active in acquiring vineyard land in Marlborough.
The wine is very different to how it was back in the day, and is now less distinguishable from other top Marlborough Sauvignons. But the brand is still a strong one. The iconic label changed a few years back and now the bottle has the famous hills embossed on it. It’s very ‘designed’.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024 Marlborough, New Zealand
13.5% alcohol. Appealing aromatics of pear drops and elderflower, with some lime and a touch of grapiness. Primary and quite floral. In the mouth there is a delicate green note with some tomato leaf and oregano, more pear, and then some grapefruit. The methoxypyrazines are in check, and come across as slightly smoky and green, like padron peppers. Very stylish. 92/100