Greywacke Wild Sauvignon 75cl

Greywacke is the exciting new venture of Kevin Judd, formerly chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay from its inception in 1986 until 2008.

The name ‘Greywacke’ was adopted by Kevin and his wife Kimberley for their first Marlborough vineyard located in Rapaura, named 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.

Fruit was sourced from various vineyard sites in and around the Brancott Valley and the central Wairau Plains, specifically in Woodbourne, Renwick and Rapaura. Soil types vary from the young alluvial soils of Rapaura and Renwick, which contain high proportions of greywacke river stones, to the older and denser clayloam gravels of the Southern Valleys.

The juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation, the tail end of which continued for almost 12 months. The wine had occasional lees stirring and approximately two thirds of the barrels underwent malo-lactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak during the following harvest and left on yeast lees for a further four months. The wine was bottled in August 2010 with an alcohol of 13.3%, pH 3.25 and acidity of 7.2 g/l.

Transformed by naturally occurring fermentations this is a sauvignon blanc of considerable depth and opulence. The bouquet has the lushness of a lemon crème brûlée, with sweet vanillin notes infused with thyme and toasted sesame. The palate is generous and crammed with savoury complexity – a ‘wild child’ sauvignon that is rich and creamy with a lingering chalky texture.

100% Sauvignon Blanc

Press reviews for Greywacke Wild Sauvignon
‘…rewardingly complex…made with indigenous yeasts and aged in old barriques…the most exciting New Zealand sauvignon I've yet encountered.’
Fiona Beckett, THE GUARDIAN (UK)

‘This is Judd’s very successful attempt at a barrel- and wild yeast-fermented style. It’s not completely dry, but you don’t notice the sugar. Savoury, mealy and almost Graves-like, this is the pick of Judd’s “dry” whites.’
94 Points, Tim Atkin, TIMATKIN.COM