Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from Cloudy Bay
750ml
Bottle:
$28.23
$30.36
Stands out for its intensity, with ruby grapefruit, yuzu and lemon essential oil details, plus notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.87
$30.95
Leaps out of the glass with effusiveness, featuring flavors of apple blossom, Key lime, Honeycrisp, lemon thyme and...
More Details
Winery
Cloudy Bay
Vintage: 2008
2008 saw very high yields across wineries in much of the southern hemisphere, as a result of highly favorable climatic conditions. Although in many areas, these high yields brought with them something of a drop in overall quality, this could not be said for South Australia's wines, which were reportedly excellent. Indeed, the 2008 Shiraz harvest in South Australia is said to be one of the most successful in recent decades, and western Australia's Chardonnays are set to be ones to watch out for. New Zealand's Pinot Noir harvest was also very good, with wineries in Martinborough reportedly very excited about this particular grape and the characteristics it revealed this year.
Pinot Noir also grew very well in the United States, and was probably the most successful grape varietal to come out of California in 2008, with Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley delivering fantastic results from this grape. Elsewhere in United States, Washington State and Oregon had highly successful harvests in 2008 despite some early worries about frost.
However, it was France who had the best of the weather and growing conditions in 2008, and this year was one of the great vintages for Champagne, the Médoc in Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes leading the way. Italy, too, shared many of these ideal conditions, with the wineries in Tuscany claiming that their Chianti Classicos of 2008 will be ones to collect, and Piedmont's Barberesco and Barolo wines will be recognized as amongst the finest of the past decade.
Varietal: Riesling
Riesling grapes are very rarely blended with others in the development of wines, and for good reason. These pale grapes which originated in the cool Rhine Valley of Germany are notable for their 'transparency' of flavor, which allows the characteristics of their terroir to shine through in wonderful ways. The result of this is a wine which carries a wide range of interesting flavors quite unlike those found in other white wines, finished off with the distinctively floral perfume Riesling supplies so well. Many wineries in Germany and elsewhere tend to harvest their Riesling grapes very late – often as late as January – in order to make the most of their natural sweetness. Other methods, such as encouraging the noble rot fungus, help the Riesling grape varietal present some truly unique and exciting flavors in the glass, and the variety of wines this varietal can produce mean it is one of the finest and most interesting available anywhere.
Region: Marlborough
When it comes to New Zealand wines, the Marlborough region is the most highly regarded and by far the largest in the country. The region itself has been closely associated with high quality white wines for over forty years now, and consistently produces some of the finest Sauvignon Blanc wines in the world. However, in recent years it has begun to expand its repertoire, and wineries have been busily raising Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines in Marlborough, amongst certain others. The excellent soil and ideal climate the region benefits from ensures the fruit there ripens slowly, achieving maximum flavor and expression of terroir. Furthermore, Marlborough's situation on the north easternmost tip of New Zealand's South Island ensures there are plenty of cooling oceanic breezes crossing the vineyards, making this one of the most perfect locations in the world for quality viticulture.
Country: New Zealand
New Zealand is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and ecologically diverse countries in the world, and the wines which are produced there are a fine representation of this diversity and overall quality. With beautifully long and warm summers, a brisk oceanic climate and mile upon mile of gently sloping mountainsides, the vineyards which have sprung up there over the past century have brought about truly fantastic results, with wine now contributing a considerable amount to the economy of the country. In recent years, New Zealand wines have won some of the most prestigious awards available in the wine world, with most of the lauded wineries coming from the Auckland region, where there has been considerable effort to replicate the finest wines of the Bordeaux region of France. The Bordeaux grape varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec) all flourish in the mineral rich soil of the region, and the results have been outstanding, marking New Zealand a strong contender for finest New World wine country.