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Te Koko, Cloudy Bay Vineyards 2019

RegionNew Zealand
Subregion New Zealand > Marlborough
ColourWhite
TypeStill
Grape VarietySauvignon Blanc

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Label

Tasting Notes

Established in 1985, Cloudy Bay has become one of the world’s most recognised New Zealand wine brands. Te Koko is made from fruit from four prime vineyard parcels. It’s barrel-fermented with ‘wild’ indigenous yeasts for four to five months before spending 15 months on fine lees. Roger Jones: Thai rice pudding with kaffir lime. Clean, focused and lingers for an age. The luxurious feeling at the end is immense; this is a stunning wine. Melanie Brown: Opulent and alluring. Shows how oak can heighten flavours and texture. Soft white peach and florals on a citrus base. Creamy centre with caramel popcorn and a pristine acid line. Beautiful. Rebecca Palmer: Attractive key lime characters, oak melding to create the silky, sleek palate.

98
Decanter Panel, Decanter.com, April 2022

Pristine aromas of sliced limes, lemons, green melon and hints of lemon grass follow through to a full body with dense fruit, yet framed by a lightly phenolic texture that holds the whole thing together, tightening the fruit in the center-palate. Beautiful finish. One of the best ever. Drink now. Screw cap.

95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, November 2021

Full screwcapped bottle 1,338 g. The first release of this wine since 2016. Earliest-ever end to harvest, on 2 April. Based on older vines on the Wairau Valley floor. Juice was settled for 24 hours and then racked directly to French oak barrels, 8% new for fermentation 'initiated by indigenous yeasts'. Slow fermentation lasted four or five months and the wine was then left on fine lees for 11 months prior to blending and then final pre-bottling aging in less oxidative vessels: tank, concrete and large wooden vats. TA 7.0 g/l, RS 3.2 g/l, pH 3.0.
Pale straw yellow. The lightest of oak notes on the nose but real texture underneath. I wonder what volume of this wine is made? It has much more delicacy than most white Pessac Léognans, for which the team should be credited, though it's definitely not as interesting as, say Ch Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc (at twice the price). Much, much subtler nowadays than some of the earlier vintages, though arguably the gustatory difference between this and the unoaked regular Cloudy Bay has been narrowing. I don't think I'd pay £40 for it.

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, December 2021
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.