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Greywacke (375ml), 2017, Marlborough Wild Sauvignon

White, New World, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand

Intense and complex, this wine has vibrant and lively lees and oak-influenced flavours with an elegant and sustained finish. Ideal with richly flavoured white meat and fish dishes.

Why we recommend this wine
We like it because it is most reminiscent of Cloudy Bay in its early days (and is made by the same winemaker); an incredibly rich and intense wine, too much so for many people. But we relished our allocation of 6 bottles each year in the late '80s and early '90s.

The wine
The grapes are sourced from various vineyard sites in the Southern Valleys and the central Wairau Plains near Blenheim in New Zealand’s South Island. 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.

Some vineyards were harvested by machine and others by hand, all into halftonne bins, which were tipped directly into tank presses. The grapes were pressed lightly and the resulting juice was cold-settled prior to racking into mostly old French oak barriques. 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 malo-lactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak prior to the following harvest and left on yeast lees for a further six months.

The wine estate
Kevin Judd was the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the company’s first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label, Greywacke, named after the rounded greywacke river stones in the soils of the vineyards. The wines are made by Kevin at Dog Point Winery in the lower Brancott Valley.
www.greywacke.com

Food and wine
The high acidity and rich flavours mean that that this wine can stand up to richness; so buttery or fatty dishes are taken in its stride.
Refer also to our food and wine pairing guide, click here

Did you know?
The first commercial vineyards were planted in Marlborough in 1973 but now it is the highest producing wine area in the country.