Greystone Brothers Pinot Noir 2012 wins Decanter International Trophy for Pinot Noir
Greystone Wines has won the 2014 International Pinot Noir trophy awarded by Decanter magazine, for their Brothers
Reserve Waipara Pinot Noir 2012. Decanter magazine is the most influential wine magazine in the world and Greystone
faced tough competition from thousands of entries worldwide.
Greystone was initially awarded the Decanter Regional Trophy for best Pinot Noir from New Zealand (over £15). From here
it then faced wines from Chile, USA, France and Germany in the international Pinot Noir final. The small family owned
winery from Waipara New Zealand emerged victorious in what has been a great year for its Pinot Noir. Already the
Greystone Pinot Noir 2012 won the Air New Zealand Trophy for Best Pinot Noir and also “Wines of Canterbury” Trophy for
best Pinot Noir.
Dom Maxwell, Greystone’s winemaker says the 2012 vintage ‘provided fruit with intensity and vibrancy, accompanied by
alluring poise and aromatic abundance’. The Brothers Reserve Pinot Noir comes from the highest block of vines on
Greystone’s Omihi hill site with deep limestone soils. Maxwell says, “We’re just now seeing the results of the vines
getting down into this limestone and are very excited to see the future for Pinot Noir from these hills.”
The team of international judges said the wine had all the classic textural and fruit hallmarks you could ask for in
great Pinot Noir. Their notes described it as “a delicious wine with real presence, this is generous, rich and fleshy,
with lots of bright redcurrant and raspberry aromas and concentrated plum, dark cherry and violet flavours. With an
earthy character, smoky oak notes and an interesting savoury element, it’s robust but with very supple tannins, a
silky-soft mouthfeel and a finish full of Christmas pudding spices.
Winemaker Dom Maxwell has been in residence at Greystone since the winery was established in 2004, his prior experience
including stints in Rheingau, Burgundy and Oregon. Everything is handpicked and sorted, with the wines being neither
fined nor filtered. Greystone uses wild yeasts to initiate its fermentations but, more intriguingly, it is also
experimenting with more unusual practices, such as vineyard fermentations. This involves the fermenter being placed in
the actual vineyard for the entire fermentation period – about 30 days. Greystone believes the native yeasts in the
vineyard change from year to year, and as its aim is to express each vintage in its purest form, that year’s vineyard
yeasts are an inherent part of that character; it also leads to a much longer and colder maceration, which Greystone
says noticeably improves the quality of the end product.
For further information please see http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/dwwa-coverage/587111/dwwa-2014-international-trophies-pinot-noir-over-15#hJxQhA6WKKAsFoVv.99 or www.greystonewines.co.nz