Greystone Wines

Our estate grown Pinot Noir with generous richness & flavour concentration. Layers of ripe fruit, floral and spice unfold on the palate with a delicate tannin line. Unfined and bottled on site.

Over 60% of our vines are Pinot Noir and the whole reason we exist on these limestone slopes is to make great Pinot. These calcareous clay soils are ideal for growing Pinot with beautiful finesse and aromatics. There are a mix of Pinot Noir clones grown here that give this wine complexity - like a choir rather than the singular voice if only one clone was used.

"Wild red flowers and red berries, distinctive soil and baking spices of wood aromas, nothing but pinosity within a harmonious bouquet. On the palate - delicious, ripe and fruity with flavours of spicy red cherry, red apple, currant, some plum and dried herb. The tannins add in a soft mealy texture and acidity carries the messages of youth and pinosity. A balanced and well made wine, harmonious and delicious. Best drinking from today and through 2025+."

Rich intense nose showing black cherry, violets, spice & lifted chalkiness. A wine with both energy & structure, ready for long aging or to enjoy young after decanting. Full with fine tannins, intense black fruits, savoury notes of black olive, porcini & espresso roast. The finish shows fine-grained oak and substantial length.
Our highest Pinot Noir block was hand picked before being hand sorted. A small percentage (15%) of whole bunch was retained for tannin structure, layers and complexity of flavours. The wine stayed on skins for 26 days allowing for full yet supple tannins,before a gentle pressing to three French oak barrels where the wine aged for 15 months. One of our finest single block expressions ever, showing the effects of fruit intensity and gentle handling. Estate bottled, without fining or filtration.

Graceful, pure & enchanting in the mouth with slippery tannins & a freshness that belies the density on the finish. Delicate nose of chalky petrichor, cinnamon and cigarbox spice with length, minerality & dark berries on the palate.

This wine started way back in 2012 when Dom Maxwell, our winemaker, first decided to experiment with an outside ferment in an attempt to ensure only the wild yeast of the vineyard itself were present for the fermentation. This began many experiments looking at the impact of the weather outside on the ferment, destemming the bunches in the vineyard and even setting concrete fermenters into the vineyard rows.

At the 2017 Pinot Noir NZ conference Dom was asked to talk about this wine and from there people demanded to taste it. The first "Vineyard Ferment Pinot Noir 2016" was released and sold out in just over 24 hours and is now one of our most sought after wines by Pinot lovers from around the world.

" Complex, mineral-laden, detailed and seductive bouquet. Aromas of ripe dark red cherry, wet clay and limestone mineral and earth layers, raspberry and scents of roses and sweet air. Youthful and equally complex on the palate with firm textures of tannins and acidity contrasted by a core of ripe red berry flavours and mineral. Chalky tannins carry a limestone flavour, some wood flavours and leesy complexities begin to emerge after several minutes in glass. A delicious wine, complex and layered, needs to be cellared for some time to bring together all the qualities it carries into a harmonious crescendo. Best drinking from late 2022 through 2030+."