Cloudy Bay
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Cloudy Bay is located at the northeast of New Zealand's South Island, to the south of the Marlborough Sounds. It is one of the country's best known vineyard areas. Many critics consider Cloudy Bay Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc to be the very best wine in the world made from that grape variety. One critic described drinking Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc to "hearing Glenn Gould playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations" (Taber, p. 244).
Cloudy Bay Vineyards has clearly set the world standard for Sauvignon Blanc and commands premium prices on the world market (Taber, p. 244). Veuve Clicquot, the French Champagne producer, now owns a controlling interest in Cloudy Bay.
The bay faces Cook Strait, stretching north-south over a distance of 30 kilometres from the southern extremity of the Marlborough Sounds to White Bluffs. Along its length is the delta of the Wairau River, which reaches the sea at two points. The southern of these forms an entrance to the Big Lagoon, just to the north of White Bluffs. eight kilometres inland from the bay lies the town of Blenheim, the main centre of the Marlborough region.
The lower reaches of the Wairau River (and the smaller neighbouring Opawa River) flow through fertile alluvial plains. This land, coupled with the region's Mediterranean-like climate, are responsible for the production of some of New Zealand's finest wines, notably sauvignons blancs and chardonnays.
See also
Source
- Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.
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