GREYWACKE - Chardonnay 2014
Greywacke is located in Marlborough, in New-Zealand. Kevin Judd is one of Marlborough’s pioneer winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked with the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin was born in England and grew up in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine at Reynella in South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. Subsequently, he became the founding winemaker at Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role during which he directed the company’s first 25 vintages. In 2009, he established his own label: Greywacke, named after New Zealand’s prolific bedrock. Richard Ellis, born in Wellington and raised in Auckland, moved to the South Island in 2000 to study Viticulture & Oenology at Lincoln University. Upon graduation he joined Pernod Ricard as assistant winemaker based principally in Auckland. In mid-2007 he decided to broaden his winemaking experience by working back-to-back harvests in alternating hemispheres. First stop was France at Château de Pennautier (Languedoc), back to New Zealand with Ata Rangi for the 2008 crush, across to USA with Stoller Winery, Oregon and finishing at Tamar Ridge in Tasmania. He joined Greywacke for the 2014 harvest in Marlborough and subsequently spent the remainder of the year in London representing Greywacke in the UK. He has now re-settled permanently in Marlborough as an integral part of the Greywacke team.
The grapes for this wine are primarily the low-yielding Mendoza clone, known for its concentration of flavour and crisp acidity. The majority of fruit was sourced from the lower reaches of the Brancott Valley and Fairhall, grown in gravelly, clayloam soils, with the remainder coming from Renwick and Rapaura, grown in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones. The vineyards were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was lightly settled and racked to French oak barriques (20% new). The juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation. The wine received occasional lees stirring and underwent a complete malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak after 18 months.
Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay
