Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Kevin Judd, the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, makes this wine under his own label from vineyards in the Southern Valleys and Wairau Plain, as well as one on a terrace in the upper Awatere Valley. It’s a citrusy sauvignon in 2016, girded by flinty notes that seem to tighten around all the rich lime flavors. Cool, laser-like acidity keeps it tense and focused; for any roast fish.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
An excellent effort from one of my favorite New Zealand wineries, the 2016 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc simply hits all of the bells and whistles. This wine shows superb brightness and vitality. Its flavors of grapefruit peel and mineral pair it well with seared scallops in a light herb and white wine reduction. (Tasted: May 4, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
One of the most sought after Marlborough Sauvignons, demand must follow owner Kevin Judd around – he was chief winemaker at Cloudy Bay for 25 years before deciding to go things alone. Intriguing fenugreek seed and bacon fat aromas evolve into elderflower and citrus. On the palate, intense gooseberry and fenugreek dominate, with elderflower and honeysuckle providing some richness, followed up by slight mineral notes. Although vibrant, the acidity is kept in check, making this a well balanced wine.
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Wine Enthusiast
Veteran Kevin Judd has turned out another fine effort. Passion fruit and pea tendril aromas impart a welcome green edge that's never overwhelming, picking up layers of white grapefruit on the plump, medium-bodied palate. The finish is intense, long and citrusy.
Editors’ Choice -
Wine Spectator
Opens with a fragrant floral note, offering high tones of honeysuckle. The lemon meringue pie and dried mango flavors are intense and vivid, showing terrific intensity on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc has a fresh grass, bay leaves, green beans and wild thyme-led nose with hints of lime leaves and lemongrass. Medium-bodied and with a lovely creaminess to the texture, it offers great intensity and a long green-veggie finish.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
An icon and leading region of New Zealand's distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc, Marlborough has a unique terroir, making it ideal for high quality grape production (of many varieties). Despite some common generalizations, which could be fairly justified given that Marlborough is responsible for 90% of New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc production, the wines from this region are actually anything but homogenous. At the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, the vineyards of Marlborough benefit from well-draining, stony soils, a dry, sunny climate and wide temperature fluctuations between day and night, a phenomenon that supports a perfect balance between berry ripeness and acidity.
The region’s king variety, Sauvignon blanc, is beloved for its pungent, aromatic character with notes of exotic tropical fruit, freshly cut grass and green bell pepper along with a refreshing streak of stony minerality. These wines are made in a wide range of styles, and winemakers take advantage of various clones, vineyard sites, fermentation styles, lees-stirring and aging regimens to differentiate their bottlings, one from one another.
Also produced successfully here are fruit-forward Pinot noirs (especially where soils are clay-rich), elegant Riesling, Pinot gris and Gewürztraminer.