2022 Greywacke, Sauvignon Blanc, 12x750ml
Vegan / Vegetarian
Availability: 4 weeks
Case size: 12 / Bottle size: 750ml
Duty Status
From £142.00
Critics Score: 95
Publication: Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Drinking Dates: 2023-2030
Struck flint reductive notes introduce the bouquet, and there is richness and excellent depth of fruit in the mouth, underlined by a little apparent sweetness, all resolved on the nicely balanced finish. Superb flavour: gooseberry, kiwi-fruit, passionfruit and other tropical fruits, and a long and satisfying aftertaste.
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.
Fruit was sourced from prime vineyards in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and the central Wairau Plains (specifically Woodbourne, Renwick and Rapaura). Soil types vary from the young alluvial soils of Rapaura and Renwick, which contain high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones, to the older and denser clay-loams of the Southern Valleys. Most of the vineyards were trained using the divided Scott Henry canopy management system, with the balance on a two- or three-cane vertical shoot positioning trellis.
The 2022 growing season was marked by significant rain. The wet weather began in winter, carrying through until late spring - a stark contrast to 2021. December and January continued warm and excellent vineyard growth was experienced across the region when ex-tropical cyclone Dovi dropped 160 mm of rain over the first three weekends of February. Fortunately this coincided with cooler temperatures and southerly breezes, minimising disease pressure. The Sauvignon Blanc harvest was compact, hurried along by further minor rain events. The rigorous canopy and yield management were crucial to bring the vines and yields into balance, giving fruit of exceptional varietal character.
Harvested largely by machine during cool (often cold) night-time conditions, the grapes were trucked to the Greywacke winery in the Omaka Valley, where they were lightly pressed to yield a modest volume of high-quality juice. The juice was then cold-settled and racked prior to fermentation, primarily using cultured yeast in stainless steel for cool, slow fermentation. A portion of the juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation in old oak barrels. All vineyard batches were left on lees and kept separate until late June, when the blend was assembled. The wine was bottled in mid-August 2022.
Fruit was sourced from prime vineyards in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and the central Wairau Plains (specifically Woodbourne, Renwick and Rapaura). Soil types vary from the young alluvial soils of Rapaura and Renwick, which contain high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones, to the older and denser clay-loams of the Southern Valleys. Most of the vineyards were trained using the divided Scott Henry canopy management system, with the balance on a two- or three-cane vertical shoot positioning trellis.
The 2022 growing season was marked by significant rain. The wet weather began in winter, carrying through until late spring - a stark contrast to 2021. December and January continued warm and excellent vineyard growth was experienced across the region when ex-tropical cyclone Dovi dropped 160 mm of rain over the first three weekends of February. Fortunately this coincided with cooler temperatures and southerly breezes, minimising disease pressure. The Sauvignon Blanc harvest was compact, hurried along by further minor rain events. The rigorous canopy and yield management were crucial to bring the vines and yields into balance, giving fruit of exceptional varietal character.
Harvested largely by machine during cool (often cold) night-time conditions, the grapes were trucked to the Greywacke winery in the Omaka Valley, where they were lightly pressed to yield a modest volume of high-quality juice. The juice was then cold-settled and racked prior to fermentation, primarily using cultured yeast in stainless steel for cool, slow fermentation. A portion of the juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation in old oak barrels. All vineyard batches were left on lees and kept separate until late June, when the blend was assembled. The wine was bottled in mid-August 2022.
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