2019 Grey Ghost Barrique Sauvignon Blanc

Lifted notes of white peach, nectarine and mandarin blossom combine with a complex gun flint aroma and supportive lees character on the nose. The stone fruit character follows through to the palate, where the creamy lees component combine with softer acidity and background minerality to form a textured and layered wine.

Named after the gigantic old gum tree that grows on Jackson’s Homestead vineyard, which is said to make ghostly noises as the temperature cools and night settles in. Made by Matt Paterson-Green, this Sauvignon Blanc is hand harvested, whole-bunch-pressed and fermented in old French oak barrels, contributing smoky and flinty complexity alongside weight and texture.

"It retains classic herb-heavy notes, yet the acidity is dialed down a tweak, the toastiness turned up, the richness rolls across the palate like a tasty tsunami of citrus and it makes me a happy sipper"
- Yvonne Lorkin

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

Watch the video below as our head winemaker Matt talks us through a tasting of Grey Ghost Sauvignon Blanc.

In this video, you'll learn about:

• The origin of the Grey Ghost name and its connection to the Homestead vineyard

• Fruit sourced from one of the oldest planted blocks on the estate (Block 2) with very stony soils

• Hand harvesting and whole-bunch pressing

• Barrel fermentation in predominantly old oak with a small portion of new oak

• Extended time in barrel (approximately 14 months)

• Wild fermentation, natural malolactic fermentation, and regular lees stirring

• Flinty, smoky, gunpowder-like characters alongside white stone fruit

• Oak-derived toastiness and nuttiness contributing to palate weight and texture

What Shapes the Style

Grey Ghost is shaped by its single-site origin at the Jackson Estate Homestead vineyard, where older vines planted on very stony soils produce fruit with natural concentration and depth. The winemaking approach borrows techniques more commonly associated with Chardonnay, including barrel fermentation, extended time on lees, and minimal intervention through wild fermentation and natural malolactic fermentation. Together, these elements create a Sauvignon Blanc that sits firmly in a more textured, layered, and savoury expression of the variety.