Cloudy Bay : Sauvignon Blanc 2025

The 2025 Sauvignon Blanc is pure, clean and brightly aromatic. The 2025 is reductive upon opening and needs some air, but then reveals lemon and lime with green tones of nettle and gooseberry. Tangy notes of passion fruit emerge, but this is not overtly tropical or flamboyant. The palate is not as concentrated as it could be and the finish shows moderate length, but 2025 was a big cropping year. Nevertheless, this is classically flavoured and well made.

The 2025 Sauvignon Blanc is fleshy and intense, as is the style of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, and there is enough savory extract and shape in the wine to elevate it beyond the norm. Here, we have grass clippings and brine, green olive tapenade, passion fruit and pineapple husk. The acidity is saline, and all elements work together toward a common goal. I recall, in context, this wine looking a little sweeter and fleshier than some of its regional peers, and yet here today in isolation, it looks tight, textural and composed. It's very good indeed. Cloudy Bay is a member of the Appellation Marlborough Wine (AMW). 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.