Another vintage has wrapped up for Cloudy Bay, and this one is even more special than usual.
We can say with certainty that 2024 was a vintage beyond compare in Marlborough. It was the driest season since long before Marlborough was a wine region, and our winemaker Kelly Stuart says that gives us plenty of good reasons to be excited about the 2024 wines.
This year was a very unusual vintage. It was probably the driest it's been in over 100 years so we had nothing to benchmark it against
Kelly Stuart - Winemaker
Warm days meant the fruit ripened quickly, but the cooler nights kept the grapes beautifully balanced.
“There was no threat of rain so we were able to pick the grapes based on optimal ripeness and flavours and there was no disease pressure,” says Kelly. “The harvest went very smoothly….and the resulting wines are looking excellent.”
The Cloudy Bay blending committee has just finished its tasting of the Sauvignon Blanc to create the blend, and we’re very excited about how it’s looking. The 40th vintage will be available from October 2024, and we can’t wait to share it with you. For now, it’s a matter of patience, but as we all know: good things take time.
Derek Beirnes, our Central Otago vineyard manager, reports that 2024 was a hot, dry and breezy vintage.
“The vines battled with low soil moisture levels from the beginning of the season right through to harvest,” he says. “This translated into a vintage that saw small, concentrated berries with great quality.”
Central Otago’s signature warm days and cool nights set the perfect conditions for a fantastic Pinot Noir harvest. Derek says that the grapes were treated to excellent ‘hang time’ - where the fruit ripens slowly on the vines.
2024 should be a year of great quality Pinot Noir out of Central Otago - perfect for Te Wāhi.
Derek Beirnes - Vineyard Manager