Greywacke - Chardonnay 2022
Greywacke is located in Marlborough , New Zealand . Kevin Judd is one of Marlborough’s pioneering winemakers whose career is intrinsically linked to the global profile of New Zealand wine. Kevin Judd was born in England and raised in Australia, where he studied winemaking at Roseworthy College and first made wine in Reynella, South Australia. He moved to New Zealand in 1983 and joined Selaks Wines. He subsequently became the founding winemaker of Cloudy Bay, a pivotal role in which he oversaw the company’s first 25 vintages. In 2009 he established his own label: Greywacke, named after New Zealand’s prolific rock. Richard Ellis , born in Wellington and raised in Auckland, moved to the South Island in 2000 to study viticulture and oenology at the University of Lincoln. Upon graduation, he joined Pernod Ricard as an assistant winemaker based primarily in Auckland. In mid-2007, he decided to broaden his winemaking experience by working consecutive harvests in alternating hemispheres. The first stop was France at Chateau de Pennautier (Languedoc), back to New Zealand with Ata Rangi for the 2008 vintage, to the USA with Stoller Winery in Oregon and finishing at Tamar Ridge in Tasmania. He joined Greywacke for the 2014 harvest in Marlborough and then spent the rest of the year in London representing Greywacke in the UK. He has now permanently relocated to Marlborough as an integral part of the Greywacke team.
The Chardonnay grapes for this wine are predominantly grown from the low-yielding Mendoza clone , known for its concentrated flavour and crisp acidity. The majority of the fruit comes from the Brancott Valley and Fairhall, grown in gravelly and clayey soils, with the remainder coming from Renwick and Rapaura, grown in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of greywacke riverstone, ubiquitous in New Zealand. The vineyards were hand-harvested separately at high levels of ripeness and whole cluster pressed using very low maceration pressing cycles. The resulting juice was lightly decanted and racked into French oak barrels, 20% of which were new . The lees were occasionally stirred and the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation. It was aged for 11 months .
Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay
