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White
New Zealand
Sauvignon Blanc
Screwcap
Dry
Integrated Oak
ABV 13.5%
Tasting notes
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
Made by a winemaker who was the first winemaker of Cloudy Bay, this wine has pedigree and hints of the early Cloudy Bay. Cloudy Bay was, in those early days, 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.
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. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here. Don't serve too cold or you will miss the intense complexity.
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.
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
Made by a winemaker who was the first winemaker of Cloudy Bay, this wine has pedigree and hints of the early Cloudy Bay. Cloudy Bay was, in those early days, 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.
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. Also see our guide to pairing food and wine here. Don't serve too cold or you will miss the intense complexity.
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.