GREYWACKE | Botrytis Pinot Gris | 2018
pinot gris

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Greywacke, established in 2009, is a family affair of the Judd family and the name of New Zealand’s most abundant bedrock. These understated grey river stones are found throughout Marlborough’s rivers and alluvial vineyard soils. The winery’s main vineyards are located in the heart of Marlborough’s Omaka Valley. All vineyards are sustainably managed with substantial and increasing proportions coming from organically farmed sites, thus are accredited with the Appellation Marlborough Wine status, ensuring provenance, authenticity and integrity.

Today we are going to review a very rare, single varietal pinot gris wine, that not only is it a delicious dessert wine, but a real gem from the famous Marlborough region of New Zealand – Botrytis Pinot Gris 2018 by Greywacke. Pinot Grigio is famous for its refreshing citrusy aroma and zesty acidity and is enjoying a wave of popularity perhaps greater than it has ever known. What makes this particular wine really special, is the fact that the pinot gris grapes were affected by noble rot (also known as botrytis cinerea) – a fungus that shrivels and dehydrate the wine grapes, thus concentrating acids and sugars, which in turn intensifies the sweetness level of the wine and adds flavor complexity, due to higher levels of phenylacetaldehyde (a special aroma compound found mostly in botrytis affected berries), creating some of the most delicious sweet wines in the world. Most of the grapes for this particular were sourced from the Mission clone of the pinot gris grape, grown at Wrekin Terrace Vineyard in the Brancott Valley, whose vineyards are planted on gravelly, clay and loam-rich soils. A smaller parcel of the Berrysmith clone of the pinot gris grape was grown near Renwick, whose vineyards are planted on young alluvial soils, containing high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous ‘greywacke‘ river stones. Both vineyards are about 20 years old and trained on a two-cane, vertical shoot positioning trellis. Half of the grape juice was fermented with indigenous yeast in old, french oak barriques, while the other half was fermented in stainless steel tanks using cultured yeast. The final wine has been blended and aged on fine lees (‘sur lie’ ageing) for a 9 months prior to bottling. But enough theory, that said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: medium-deep yellow color
clarity: bright yellow hues on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: pronounced & jammy
fruit profile: sweet fruits | citrus fruits | tropical fruits
__green fruits: yellow pear | quince
__citrus fruits: lemon
__tropical fruits: pineapple
fruit character: overripe & dehydrated

//Flavor
non fruit: herbal | sweet | other
__vegetal: bay leaf | hay | nettle | dried leafs | vine leaf | currant leaf
__sweet: raisins | pollen | honey | propolis | honeycomb | beeswax
__other: moist wood | botrytis | oxidative hints | penicillin | almond
primary layer: sweet & herbal

//Palate
sweetness: sweet
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: none
__grip: smooth
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: lean  | medium+

//Taste
fruit profile: sweet fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: herbal & sweet
finish: medium+
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
GREYWACKE | Botrytis Pinot Gris | 2018
variety: pinot gris
country: New Zealand
region: Marlborough
rating: 94.2

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now or within the next 3-4 years
verdict: great | a must try wine
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This is definitely a great wine of New Zealand and with a total of 94.2 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a crisp, lean and refreshingly-appealing dessert wine with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel and a very nuanced, honey-herbal accent on the nose. The wine is right there, at the peak of its prime form, therefore we would recommend to drink it sooner rather than later, as it is always better to drink a wine a year too soon than a day too late. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of overripe and dehydrated sweet fruits in the foreground, pronounced herbal-honeyed notes in the background and a touch of citrus and tropical fruits in between. On the palate the wine delivers refreshing acidity and a well integrated alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel, which evolves nicely into a crispy-sweet aftertaste. All in all, this is a very smooth, lean and well structured dessert wine – a real crowd-pleaser and one of the best we’ve tasted lately. We believe this wine will pair lovely with soft cheeses or creamy dessert dishes, like for example baked camembert, crème brûlée or panna cotta. Enjoy!

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