With 97 points, this is one of the highest scoring New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and is classified as outstanding.
Flavours of a summer fruit salad of papaya, honeydew melon and ripe, golden quinces - all drizzled with citrus and a squeeze of orange oil. A delicious floral fragrance and juicy tropical fruit, infused with a fennel-like herbal thread and a faint whiff of wood smoke. Fermented entirely with naturally occurring yeast, this is an alternative style of Sauvignon Blanc that is both intricate and textural, with a rich, succulent palate finishing crisp and long with a flinty dryness.
Greywacke was created in 2009 by Kevin Judd, chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay from its inception for 25 years and instrumental in the international recognition which Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc enjoys now. The name 'Greywacke' was adopted by Kevin for his first Marlborough vineyard located in Rapaura in recognition of the high prevalence of rounded greywacke river stones in the soils of the vineyard; a sedimentary rock which is widely found in Marlborough. Kevin Judd is also New Zealand's finest wine photographer and has recently published a book 'The Landscape of New Zealand Wine'.
Fruit was sourced from various vineyard sites in the Southern Valleys and the central Wairau Plains, specifically in Woodbourne, Renwick and Rapaura. Soil types vary from the young alluvial deposits of Rapaura and Renwick, which contain high proportions of greywacke river stones, to the older and denser clay-loams of the Southern Valleys. A high percentage of the vineyards were trained using the divided Scott Henry canopy management system, with the balance on two or three cane vertical shoot positioning.
Some vineyards were machine harvested during cool (often cold) night-time conditions, and others by hand during the day. The grapes were lightly pressed then the juice cold-settled prior to racking into French oak barriques, a small percentage of which were new. The juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation, the tail end of which continued for well over six months. The wine had occasional lees stirring and approximately two-thirds underwent malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak prior to the following harvest and left on yeast lees for a further five months.
Perfect partner with seafood with enough body to handle oily fish; try mackerel, grilled or tartare, and tuna steak.
Roger Jones - "Stylish balance of fruit to herbaceous notes, multi-layered with a crunchy texture, mellow yellow summer field flowers. The elegance at the end is quite remarkable."
97 Points - Decanter. From a selection of 197 New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, tasted blind at Decanter's panel tasting in Nov 2023, Greywacke's ‘Wild Sauvignon' 2021 came out on top and was classified as 'outstanding'.
