|
The Advertiser (Adelaide) Louise Radman 19th December 2007
Hand-picked fruit from two selected parcels in the Wairau Valley. Eighty per cent of the wine is fermented in 3 year old French barriques. Pristine white peach and passion fruit with brioche complexity and subtle wisps of smoky notes. Lovely softness and elegance.
Wine Orbit Sam Kim July 07
This is a very well crafted ‘alternate’ style of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Hand harvested with 80% of the fruit going through barrel fermentation. Indigenous/wild ferment at relatively warm temperatures (up to 20˚C) and lees stirring has taken away some of the aroma intensity but provided wonderful texture and complexity. It shows a subtle and elegant nose of ripe stone, citrus and passion fruits with gentle herbal notes. The palate is where this wine really delivers. It’s full and rich with excellent weight and texture with fresh acidity leading to a crisp dry finish. This should be a lovely food wine with its rich body and complexity. At its best: now to 2008. 4 stars 91 points
The Independent Wine Monthly Jane Skilton MW and Emma Jenkins February 2007
A contrasting style to the regular bottling, the 2006 Grey Ghost Sauvignon Blanc (named after a gum tree planted in 1867) is a spare-no-expense, limited volume, partially barrel-fermented offering. It shows a similar restraint to the standard label, with oak aromas noticeable on the nose but not overwhelming the grassy, gooseberry, red apple notes. There is a more exotic, glacé pineapple
and guava note with a hint of vanilla and spice from the oak. The palate is softer
than usually expected for a sauvignon blanc but the acidity still belies the variety and adds good structure to the smooth, ripe fruited palate. Like the aromas, the flavours are slightly more tropical, with pineapple and mango hints, but also showing the gooseberry and nettle of sauvignon. This is a good honest attempt at a different style of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and it is pleasing to see they are not attempting to overwhelm the hallmark pungent fruit of the region but to offer consumers an interesting alternative on the groaning shelves of sauvignon.
Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine Bob Campbell MW June/July 2007
Top 100 New Releases. Jackson Estate's flagship sauvignon blanc is an intense wine with appealing current, passionfruit and red capsicum flavours. Aromatic sauvignon blanc with lovely fruit purity. Crisp acidity promotes a drying finish. 92 points.
www.wineoftheweek.com Sue Courtney May 2007
Jackson Estate Grey Ghost Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2006 is one of the new wave 'alternative' styles of sauvignon blanc with wild yeast ferments and barrel work, in this case 80% barrel and just 20% tank. The result is a rich, ripe, powerful, flavoursome wine. It's a little savoury on the nose with a hint of soft oak and a suggestion of grilled peaches, and it's soft and rounded in the mouth with the pungency of the sauvignon fruit softened by the richness that the barrel work and wild yeasts have added. In the flavour department there's peach, passionfruit, melon, summer herbs and even a touch of honey with a spicy savouriness to the creamy backbone and a mouthfilling and pungently long finish where tropical guava flavours emerge.
Hawke's Bay Today Yvonne Lorkin May 2007
The Grey Ghost takes its name from an enormous old gum tree planted near the vineyard by the matriarch of the family over 140 years ago. But there’s nothing grey or ghosty about this zingy sauvignon. With aromas of crushed green herbs, passionfruit and lemon curd that lead to intensely herbaceous, citrus-laden flavours. I love the tingly, textural finish and the fact that it was perfect with my fresh mussel soup.
www.truewines.co.nz Keith Stewart 18th April 2007
Nose - Aromatic, deep nose is pure and fresh. Taste - Very pure, fresh impact with a hint of citrus and a very cool demeanour. Bright mid palate has some interesting flavour details that add a measure of savoury/nuttiness to the wine. Finish is fresh, clean and dry with a lovely aromatic lift and fading hint of flowers.
Metro Magazine Kerry Tyak April 2007
Thirty years of hands on experience and an acute appreciation of the style mean Jackson Estate knows what makes a good Marlborough savvy and I really enjoyed my bottle of Grey Ghost. It has all the expected hallmarks but also something a little out of the ordinary with some peach notes and a touch of smokiness. The mouth feel is smooth, dry but lively, and texture and taste well balanced. A clever little wine and easily worth the $30 you should expect to pay.
Waikato Times Peter Shaw March 2007
About 80 percent of this wine was barrel fermented, and that together with the lees stirring has given the wine a complex nose of stone fruit and nutty oak and a stiff acid finish. It’s well balanced and leaves the mouth clean and ready for food.
North & South Stephen Bennett MW February 07
One of the new wave of more distinguished, “grown up” sauvignons. Lovely and dry with integrated smoky oak. Rich and textural, it cries out for the finest oysters, mussels or salmon. Well worth $30. 4.5 Stars.
|
