A lovely nose of orchard fruits expands on the palate, revealing bright citrus, a distinct minerality, and notes of toasted almond on the lingering finish. This is a dynamic great-quality wine that you’ll almost never find at this price. It leans Old World in style (not unlike a white Burgundy from the Mâconnais) due to its cool climate while coaxing out bright fruit flavors from Santa Barbara County’s long growing season and more-southern solar exposure. What a wonderful sense of place this wine delivers. Its bright acidity pairs well with food.

Grapes are sourced from various locations, including Kick On Ranch in Los Alamos and younger vines from the storied Sanford & Benedict and La Rinconada vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills. Grapes are whole-cluster pressed then aged in 20% new French oak in a combination of 228-liter barrels and 500-liter puncheons. There’s full malolactic fermentation with lighter lees remaining in barrel for 11 months, no doubt providing the toasty almond notes.

Tasted over the last three vintages, this wine shows wonderful consistent quality, especially at its price point. It’s a great entry to the wines of Tyler, which include a number of single-vineyard bottlings, including from storied Bien Nacido, Sanford & Benedict, La Rinconada, and now their own Mae Estate, which debuted in 2019.

Calling all lovers of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc! This wine from Greywacke knocks it out of the park. The aromas you’d expect from Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – tropical passion fruit, guava, pear, and white peach – leap from the glass. It’s a generous yet crisp wine on the palate, showing ripe pineapple with a zesty lime zing layered with elderflower and citrus and a long, mineral-driven and herbaceous finish. Complex and wonderfully balanced, this wine delights in every way. Pair it with goat cheese, fish, or light meats like chicken or pork, especially with herbed sauces or with Asian cuisine. The winemaker, Kevin Judd, is renowned for his winemaking, which he honed for 25 years at Cloudy Bay, where he helped define the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc style and put it on the global wine map. At Greywacke, Judd sources the best fruit from Marlborough’s Southern Valley and the Wairau Plains. Harvested during cool and often cold nights, the grapes are pressed lightly to yield the highest-quality juice. Individual vineyard batches are fermented separately until he assembles the final blend.

If you read the caption for the photo above, you’ll note that Kevin Judd is credited. What started for him as a hobby has flourished into two books of photographs: The Colour of Wine, and The Landscape of New Zealand Wine. Judd notes that both winemaking and photography require a deft application of art and science. He ruminates that while his wine will not be drinkable in 50 years, his photography will still be available. No doubt his wine legacy will also endure.