2016 Greywacke Archive Wild Sauvignon, Marlborough

95 Points, Huon Hooke
95 Points, Bob Campbell MW
95 Points, Toni Paterson MW
94 Points, James Suckling

Sourced from various sites in the Southern Valleys and Central Wairau Plains, specifically Woodbourne, Renwick and Rapaura.

Gentle pressing and cold settling prior to racking to mostly old French oak barriques. Wild yeast fermentation, occasional lees stirring and two-thirds MLF, transferred out of oak and left on lees for six months.

“Light, bright yellow colour; the bouquet smoky, barrel-influenced, complex and intriguing. It's restrained, delicate and dry, crisp and balanced with softness and drinkability. The oak is very discreet on the palate. The wine is quite delicate and restrained for a barrel-fermented savvy. It still has a varietal signature. I like its subtlety. A delicious wine.” 

– Huon Hooke

Kevin Judd founded Greywacke after working as chief winemaker and later general manager at Cloudy Bay for (by my estimate) 24 years before launching his own brand. Judd is, in my estimation, the country’s top specialist wine photographer. The genesis for Greywacke Wild Sauvignon was Cloudy Bay Te Koko; a funky, barrel-fermented sauvignon blanc that bent all the rules when it was made in 1992 and initially sold only through the cellar door.

Greywacke Wild Sauvignon is a blend from 10 different Marlborough vineyards which are machine-harvested at night. After pressing the juice is settled before being pumped into mostly old barrels and fermented using indigenous yeasts (about 15-20 different strains). The wine undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation and lees stirring (which reduces buttery characters).

A feature of Greywacke Wild Sauvignon is the distinctive mineral, struck flint, struck match characters that vary in intensity from vintage to vintage. Judd acknowledges the role of wild yeast fermentation and the use of solids in the formation of sulphides, which are controlled to some degree by controlling the level of solids in fermentation.