2022 Greywacke Chardonnay, Marlborough

Aromas of ripe apples, pie crust and hints of flint and graphite. Medium- to full-bodied with plenty of fruit, from apples to oranges, as well as a hint of oak. It’s flavorful and long in the finish. Plenty going on here. Youthful and al dente. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

95 points James Suckling

Once the transient reduction lifts, this displays an expressive wine with ripe peach and marmalade flavours accompanied by a generous serving of cinnamon oak and ginger spice. The charming, mouth-filling flavours glide seamlessly across the mid-weight palate before grapefruit and vanilla come together on the creamy finish of white chocolate. Flavoursome while remaining bright, this accessible wine is very enjoyable now but will gain more weight and nutty complexity over the next few years 06 Feb 2025 Drink 2025–2032

93 points Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review

Showing its peach and apricot side, this opens with some warmed orchard fruit, sunshine and roasted and toasted oak nuances. Pine nut, sesame and charred pineapple. Acidity swings in and brings with it some lemon tea and chamomile. This is in its savoury era and would be ideal with macadamia-crusted lamb or peanut-based sauces. Quite the luxurious drinking experience.

93 points Shanteh Wale, Halliday Wine Companion

Greywacke is the personal label of Kevin Judd, the founding winemaker of Cloudy Bay and one of the people who helped put Marlborough wine on the world stage. He established Greywacke in 2009, naming it after the hard grey sandstone found throughout New Zealand. While Sauvignon Blanc may be the region’s calling card, Judd’s Chardonnay has quietly become one of the most compelling wines in the range.

Fruit comes from mature vineyards in Marlborough’s cooler Southern Valleys, where clay rich soils and long ripening conditions suit a more serious style of Chardonnay. Fermentation and maturation in French oak, along with indigenous yeast and lees contact, build texture and savoury complexity rather than simple oak flavour. The 2022 has now had enough bottle age for those elements to knit together while retaining plenty of freshness.

Bright straw gold, opening with white peach, nectarine and Meyer lemon before grapefruit and citrus blossom emerge. Toasted hazelnut, almond meal and sourdough add depth, with struck flint and a faint smoky reduction running underneath. The palate is layered and beautifully textured, with stone fruit and lemon curd through the middle, balanced by lively acidity. Grapefruit, cashew and flinty notes gather towards a long, dry and savoury finish.

Hokkaido scallops browned in butter are right on target, while roast snapper with fennel, crab linguine, miso glazed salmon or cauliflower roasted with tahini and hazelnuts give us plenty of other excuses to open it. Our pick is the scallops, finished with lemon and just enough butter to meet that lovely creamy, nutty texture.

Cellaring: Drink now to 2035.