Cloudy Bay's vines are trained to yield fruit that's solely for sparkling. Several different clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are pressed without crushing. Juices are given a short period of cold settling, followed by racking and inoculation to a pure strain of Montrachet yeast. Base wines are vinified and aged in a mixture of fermenters, large oak vats and small French oak barrels. Following a spontaneous malolactic fermentation, parcels are left to age on lees for a further eight months prior to assemblage. The Chardonnay component is put on tirage using prise de mousse the following February, followed by a minimum of two years lees ageing in the bottle before disgorgement and liqueur doseage.