Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Greywacke makes a stylish mouthful, with pristine fruit flavours of gooseberry and grapefruit.

An accessible and attractive Chardonnay with strong, sweet fruit and a generous mouthfeel.  It‘s a fruit-focused wine with a seasoning of nicely intergrated oak and yeast lees characters.

My favourite is the sensational, steely-stony, lemon zest-nipped 2011 Greywacke Sauvignon.

Very ripe and juicy yet crisp and well balanced — a style somewhere between Sancerre and what you might expect from Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc.

Kiwi Sauvignon for grown-ups, this is intense but restrained, with herb-infused lemon and nectarine flesh and a touch of pear, but with just as much emphasis on minerality as the fruit.

We loved the 2010 and we adore this: massively pungent nose, the passionfruit and elderflower matched by a searing core of minerality. The palate has such concentration too: it is naturally juicy, fat and textured, but the grip of the acidity and freshness of the grapefruit finish gives wonderful savour and lip-smacking appeal.

Best Wines December 2011

A massively vivacious nose, the lychee and elderflower pungency matched by a lovely passionfruit richness and honeyed ripeness. On the palate the searing core of minerality has such concentration too: it feels natural, juicy, fat and textured, but the grip of the acidity and the dazzling freshness of the grapefruity finish gives wonderful savour and lip-smacking appeal.

A terrific, layered, complex white with hints of minerality and fresh yet restrained lemon, orange and gooseberry flavours.

Infused with stones? This certainly plays the minerality card in spades, so to speak, and has a great long aftertaste. One of the most exciting Marlborough Sauvignons to have come my way. Lightness of touch. Minimal sweetness. The year was described by the laconic Kevin Judd as ‘a very orderly and rewarding harvest‘. Bit of elderflower blossom into the bargain...Long and sinewy.

Stylish flavours.

Intriguing, a complex aromatic note includes whiffs of petrol, oolong tea, mineral and lanolin, giving way to an equally complex flavour. Crunchy green apple, Meyer lemon, and melon flavours are refreshing, balanced and persistent on the finish.

Scintillating refresher with grapefruit nuances.

Complex … with its cocktail of lemon, orange and gooseberry flavours and concluding hints of minerality.

Very pale, faintly yellow green, with the glow and polish of a well-made dry white. It had an enticing citrus scent, redolent of freshly cut apples, and with mouthwatering, gooseberry-like acidity. The flavour was penetrating, with (and I agree with Judd) ‘a sorbet-like medley of lychees and grapefruit laced with flinty minerality’.

Fresh, crisp, young wine giving a juicy fruit salad of tangerine, melon and lime, then ending on a more rounded, softer note.

This truly delicious 2011 is Kevin Judd’s best Greywacke vintage yet. Unlike other over-the-top and often silage-scented Marlborough Sauvignons, Judd manages to bring an almost European elegance to his wine...Tuck in to this glorious, fragrant, floral, zesty, herb-laden 2011: its racy gooseberry fruit is a joy. Perfect to drink now with all its zingy Sauvignon fruit to the fore, or you could put it away for a year or two for some rich asparagus and green bean flavours to develop.

Superb new vintage from Kevin Judd. Tinglingly fresh, juicy elderflower, herb and lemon flavours with a mouthwatering saline, mineral character and a fine chalky texture. Great length and presence.

Beautifully judged, limey, vibrant Sauvignon with tangy flavours.

Greywacke is currently NZ’s most sought after, cult Sauvignon Blanc, and it lives up to its hype.  It has the singular skill of transporting you back to twenty years ago when you will have first tasted top flight Marlborough Sauvignon – the shock to the senses and momentum on the palate is gripping and although the landscape has changed, this wine proves that quality will always out.

Surely 2011 is the year Greywacke Sauvignon really got into its stride? Can‘t remember a Marlboro SB impressing me more.