About This Wine
Vintage Notes
The season began relatively unsettled, leading to inconsistent fruit-set and lower yields with looser bunches. This proved to be a blessing, as the mild and humid weather that followed required rigorous canopy management to handle disease pressure. Long sunny days and cool nights in March provided the perfect environment for ripening, allowing each block to reach its full potential before picking.
Vineyard Notes
The Pinot Noir comes from the cool clay soils and rolling, north-facing slopes of Marlborough's Southern Valleys region. The aged alluvial gravels and dense clay subsoils balance drainage and water availability to yield the region's best grapes. The key vineyards for this variety are Mustang, Delta, and Barracks. The vines are trained with vertical shoot positioning to make the most of the sunlight.
Winemaking
The grapes are de-stemmed and sorted using an optical sorter before being gravity-fed into open-topped fermentation tanks. Some whole bunches are included to build structure. The skins were gently plunged, with an average of 21 days' skin contact, and then 100% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. After fermentation, the wines were matured in French oak for 11 months, of which 30% was new.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Beautifully aromatic and enticing on the nose, with a distinctly summery character. Scents of strawberry and cherry run alongside a touch of vanilla and toast.
Palate
The palate is immediately bright and concentrated. Notes of sun-ripened Victoria plums, strawberry and cherry recall fruit picking on warm days. All is freshened and enlivened by a dart of redcurrant acidity.
Food Pairing
Versatility is this wine’s calling card. It matches with a wide variety of foods, including lighter game meats (duck, rabbit), lamb, roasted vegetables, berries, herbs and almost anything chargrilled. It also pairs well with meaty and oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, swordfish, monkfish and tuna.
About the Winery
Cloudy Bay Vineyards is one of the most famous producers of the Marlborough wine region on the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in 1985 as one of the first producers of Marlborough. The winery has multiple vineyards in the Wairau Valley sub region of Marlborough, as well as an additional estate and cellar door in Central Otago.
Specifications
- Vintage: 2023
- Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Noir
- Region: Marlborough / New Zealand
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Acidity TA: 5.2 g/l
- Acidity pH: 3.6
- Maturation: 11 months in French oak (30% new)
- Oak Type: French
- Vineyard / Geo info: Southern Valleys (Mustang, Delta, Barracks)
- Sweetness: Dry
- Ownership: LVMH
- Closure: Screwcap
- Drinking Window: 2026–2035
