Cloudy Bay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2019

It might not have been the first Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but it was the one that put the style on the map – and its popularity is still as strong as ever, 35 years on. It comes at a price but the quality is reliably consistent, packed with quintessential flavours of ripe passion fruit, zesty grapefruit, fresh gooseberry and grassy, herbal tones.

My least favourite wine of the line-up, with a slightly gawky character suggestive of a dumb phase between bright primary fruit and the evolved complexity of the older vintages. There’s a roundness to the palate that may suggest some lees contact or ageing in old oak. Some bright elderflower, lemongrass and guava notes on the nose and palate. Drink now to 2030 (assuming it follows the same developmental path as its predecessors).