2020 Greywacke Pinot Noir Half Bottle 375ml, Marlborough

Delicately scented and quite floral wine with violet/rose petal, cherry, anise/spice, cherry/berry and subtle oak flavours. Aromatic and appealing wine with purity and subtle power. Perfectly formed. 03 JUN 2022 Drink 2022–2030

95 points Bob Campbell MW therealreview.com

Greywacke Pinot Noir from Marlborough is a richly perfumed, textural, and quietly powerful wine that captures the wild beauty of New Zealand’s South Island. Crafted by legendary winemaker Kevin Judd, founding winemaker of Cloudy Bay, Greywacke Pinot is a benchmark for the region—layered and expressive with a perfect balance of fruit purity, savoury complexity, and cool-climate finesse.

The fruit is sourced from low-yielding vineyards in the Southern Valleys subregion of Marlborough, particularly from the Brancott and Omaka Valleys, where clay-rich soils and hillside aspects provide optimal conditions for Pinot Noir. These sites benefit from warm days and cool nights that allow for slow ripening and extended flavour development, producing fruit with vibrant acidity, fine tannins, and intense aromatics.

Kevin Judd takes a hands-off approach in the winery, allowing the vineyards to speak through the wine. Grapes are hand-harvested, cold-soaked, and fermented with indigenous yeasts in open-top fermenters. The wine is matured in French oak barriques (roughly 40 percent new) for about a year, building structure, savoury depth, and silkiness.

In the glass, Greywacke Pinot Noir shows seductive aromas of dark cherry, blackberry, violets, and baking spice, with underlying notes of dried herbs, forest floor, and a touch of smoky oak. The palate is supple and mouthfilling, with ripe red and black fruits, velvety tannins, and a long, seamless finish.

This is a serious and age-worthy Marlborough Pinot that combines lushness with restraint, making it an exceptional match for roast duck, grilled lamb, or mushroom-based dishes.