2023 Greywacke Wild Sauvignon Blanc 750ml

Overview

A distinctive, barrel-fermented interpretation of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Greywacke Wild Sauvignon takes the variety well beyond the region’s conventional fruit-driven style. The 2023 is spontaneously fermented in French oak and given extended time on lees, building savoury complexity, texture and depth around its vibrant acidity. A highly acclaimed release, it received 96 points from Susie Barrie MW & Peter Richards MW, 95 points from Decanter, Robert Parker Wine Advocate, Halliday Wine Companion and Wine Enthusiast, and 94 points from Stephen Wong MW.

Vintage

The 2023 season followed a notably wet winter and a challenging spring marked by several frosts, before an excellent flowering period resulted in healthy crop levels. Early summer was warm but changeable, followed by a dry late February and settled autumn that provided an extended ripening season. Sauvignon Blanc was a stand-out variety in 2023, delivering excellent quality across the vineyards.

Vineyard

Fruit was sourced from several vineyard sites across Marlborough’s Southern Valleys and central Wairau Plains near Woodbourne. Soils range from older, dense clay-loams in the Southern Valleys to younger clay-loams containing varying proportions of gravel around Woodbourne, including high levels of greywacke river stones. The vineyards are trained predominantly to two- or four-cane VSP.

Winemaking

Some vineyards were harvested by machine during cool, often cold, night-time conditions, while others were hand-picked during the day. The grapes were lightly pressed to produce a modest volume of high-quality juice, which was cold-settled before being racked into French oak barriques, a small proportion of which were new.

Fermentation occurred spontaneously with indigenous yeast and continued for well over six months. The wine received occasional lees stirring and approximately two-thirds underwent malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak before the following harvest and remained on yeast lees for a further six months before bottling in September 2024.

Producer Tasting Notes

Nose: “Aromas of rock melon, ginger, lime zest and toasted coconut abound.”

Palate: “Lemon curd and tangelo flavours provide a juicy foundation to the expansive, full-flavoured palate. Lush and textural in style, the wine is well tempered by chalky oyster shell notes and a generous spine of acidity.”

Finish: “A hands-off interpretation of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and an untamed, unique expression of the season and our Southern Valleys terroir.”

Critic Reviews

96 Points — Susie Barrie MW & Peter Richards MW
“It’s a wine that effortlessly radiates class, and one that prioritises complexity and savouriness over up-front fruit.”

95 Points — Anne Krebiehl MW, Decanter
“Great concentration and so many layers of flavours.”

95 Points — Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
“This wine routinely cellars with exceptional grace, and this vintage appears to be no different.”

95 Points — Shanteh Wale, Halliday Wine Companion
“A wine for pausing and taking it all in. This is alluring with its passionfruit gels, tangerine and lemon myrtle oil. Some frangipani and candle wax. Dried hay and barley crop. The palate extends the robust flavour of grilled nuts and manuka honey, with good skin and oak texture. Some bitter orange on the finish. A wine with lots of detail and complexity.”

95 Points — Christina Pickard, Wine Enthusiast
“Anything with ‘wild’ in the name indicates a wine that walks to its own beat, which Greywacke’s now iconic wine certainly does. No green veg-and-fruit combo typically found in Marlborough’s famed Sauvy B style here. Instead, a great swathe of rich, reductive characters appear from first inhale: toasted cashews, matchstick and grilled lemons. It’s waxy, salty and evocative. The palate is all about texture, rich and creamy but never heavy, thanks to permeating acidity that keeps the mouth watering.”

94 Points — Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review
“Creamy vanilla oak is wrapped in layers around a well-defined core of green apple, grapefruit and wet stone flavours. The palate has subtlety and elegance, yet also lovely definition, provided by carefully measured acidity which creates an impression of length and linearity. Despite the oak being noticeable, it sinks below the complex fruit, letting the wine finish with stony persistence rather than woodiness.”

Specifications

• Vintage: 2023
• Producer: Greywacke
• Country: New Zealand
• Region: Marlborough
• Grape Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Sweetness: Dry
• Fermentation: Spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation in French oak barriques
• Malolactic Fermentation: Approximately two-thirds
• Oak: French oak barriques, a small proportion new
• Lees Ageing: Extended ageing on yeast lees with occasional lees stirring
• Closure: Screw Cap
• Drinking Window: 2025–2032