This was a very interesting tasting. Winemaker and owner Kevin Judd, head winemaker for Cloudy Bay for 25 years, presented his whole range from his new project, Greywacke. It was fascinating to taste the consistent style no matter what the grape. Kevin seems very hands on in the vineyard and hands off in the winery. Most of these wines are made with wild yeast, spontaneous fermentation, extended lees contact, barrel fermentation and relatively little winemaker intervention. All of the wines had fantastic feel and texture and shared many of the same savory, lime characteristics. These are wines of character. Perhaps they will not be to everyone's taste, but I think they are interesting and worth trying.
- 2012 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Very nice. Bright grassy acid, steely with an intense cut. Floral and almost rich underneath. Long bracing finish, elegant and expressive. I'm not a Sauvignon Blanc fan but this was very good.
B
- 2010 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc Wild - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Bright, grassy, lime citrus acid. Smooth with lovely silky texture, soft, butter oak, quite a nice roundness for the grape. What a white Burgundy would be if it were Sauvignon Blanc (if that makes sense). I'm not a big fan of the grape so I don't seek it out, but I'd have to say this is one of the best Sauvignon Blancs I've tasted. Lovely.
B+
- 2010 Greywacke Chardonnay - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Deep and textural with broad, creamy, yeasty, buttery malo fruit under bright, lemony acidic fruit. Some herbal minty-ness. Nice feel and texture. Good mix of old and new style with long broad finish. Can taste the lees, French oak and malo. Smokey, flinty, mineral, lime. Very interesting wine and very enjoyable too. Excellent wine.
B+
- 2011 Greywacke Pinot Gris - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
This wine was VERY popular around the room, although I didn't like it as much as other people did. Certainly was the most popular wine of the night. Smooth, silky, oily, generous texture. Quite dense and heavy for a Pinot Gris. A bit on the sweet side, broad, herbal and very complex. Certainly a-typical Pinot Gris, probably the most complex wine I've had from that grape. Interesting but a bit overdone in its style. Worth a try, in fact I bought a bottle to try again in the future. Not a wine for a light, breezy Pinot Gris drinker.
B-
- 2011 Greywacke Riesling - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Bright with lime acid, steely but weighty for a riesling. Almost off-dry, this had lots of green apple and chalky, tacky minerality. Broad and savory, chewy.
B/B-
- 2010 Greywacke Pinot Noir - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Dark, savory, coffee grounds, soy and umami. Nice and dense with a long meaty finish and a dollop of acid. Would easily mistake this for Martinborough, although with slightly higher limey acidic component. WEll built, complex, integrated with a bit of pretty flower petal and some smoke. My favorite of the night.
B+/A-
- 2011 Greywacke Riesling Late Harvest - New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
Dense and thick but not heavy. Could use a lot of bottle age. Long smoky finish, meaty and savory with good texture. I found this a little short on acid.