Cloudy Bay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, 2021

Despite vintage variation, there's no denying the consistency (in quality and relative price) of this iconic wine after almost 37 years. Compared to the structured and high-acid 2020, this is a vintage to enjoy now, with a weighty, fleshy palate of gooseberry, freshly cut grass and sweet grapefruit.

Both intense and classy on the nose - there is definitely the overt green apple, grass, bell pepper aroma, but it is a little held back, a little musty, a little deeper. Fresh tropical fruit - mango juice and fresh ripe pineapple. There's a light reductive flinty stony touch. The intensity rushes in, filling the mouth with limes. There's some grip on the teeth, almost tannic, and searing acidity. A wine that knows what it's doing.