Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2021

Attractive, fresh, pear, peach and praline aromas lead to a palate that has a succulent and attractively juicy feel ,as well as a fresh line of acidity that holds the finish in tight. Drink now. Screw cap.

Shows depth to the lemon meringue and marmalade flavors, which come across as juicy, rich and succulent. Offers dashes of sweet cream and nutmeg on the finish.

The 2016 Chardonnay spent 12 months in 15% new French oak. It features subtle hints of toasted hazelnut and butter, along with notes of white peaches and citrus. This medium-bodied wine is silky in texture, with a long, grapefruit-tinged finish. It shouldn't be overlooked in the Cloudy Bay lineup.

(a 60/40 blend of fruit from the estate and from local growers; this fruit will be picked earlier going forward and will get less new oak and undergo less malolactic fermentation, as winemaker Tim Heath is looking for "nervousness and crunch" to the white peach and stone fruit flavors; 25% new oak): Bright light yellow. Grapefruit pith, stone, spicy oak and a sexy touch of honey on the nose. Saline, brisk, grapefruity wine with serious energy and a complicating touch of sulfidey flint. Savory and nicely balanced. This shares a silkiness of texture with the Sauvignon Blanc but the latter wine is brighter and longer. Cloudy Bay will be going to lighter-toast oak with the 2015 to preserve local character. Operation winemaker Daniel Sorrell told me that he loves Burgundy and is moving in the direction of more feminine, structured, gently extracted wines.

Previous vintages have impressed more than this one, which admittedly wasn't an easy year in Marlborough. The marriage of toasty oak and ripe fruit comes across as similar to popcorn, aligned with linear notes of pineapple and citrus that extend through the long, clean finish.