Today’s Story: Greywacke
Greywacke was established by Kevin and Kimberley Judd in 2009 in the Marlborough wine region of New Zealand. Though Greywacke itself is a young venture, Kevin is deeply rooted in the New Zealand wine world. After studying wine at Roseworthy College in Australia, he moved to New Zealand in 1983 to join Selaks Wines and later moved on to become the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay. After 25 vintages leading Cloudy Bay, Kevin established Greywacke which is named for the layered sandstone and mudstone rocks that can be found throughout New Zealand. Greywacke’s fruit is sourced from vineyards in the central Wairau Plains and the Southern Valleys, while Kevin makes the wines themselves at Dog Point Winery in the lower Brancott Valley. Though Greywacke focuses on Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, they also release limited quantities of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer.
To learn more about Greywacke and explore their range of wines, visit the website here (also the source of today’s information).
Today’s Wine: 2015 Chardonnay
100% Chardonnay; 14% ABV
The 2015 Chardonnay is transparent medium yellow in color with gold and slightly greenish hues. Given some time to blossom in the glass, the wine opens to display a nose of white peach, stone fruit, pineapple, matchstick, dill, lightly buttered popcorn, hazelnut, and vanilla. On the palate, we get notes of lemon zest, golden apple, crisp pear, white florals, slate, nuts, smoke, and brioche toast. This is a medium- to full-bodied Chardonnay with medium (+) acidity and a well-rounded mouthfeel leading into a long, mouthwatering finish. An absolutely gorgeous wine, and rather Burgundian in profile.
Price: $28 (typically closer to $40). At the price I paid, I’m very tempted to say this is perhaps the greatest value Chardonnay I’ve purchased to date. The purity and focus in this wine is outstanding for its price point (and well above it), while the Burgundian nature really makes me want to slip this into a blind tasting. Even at $40, this is certainly a wine I would add to my cellar.
JB's Wine Talk 