10 GREAT GRENACHE
I recently read that grenache is likely the reparative bridge between disinterest in Australian wine abroad – particularly in the US – and the reality that there are exciting wines here. I agree. This is because grenache boasts a sense of terroir-inflected uniqueness. It is authentic, differentiating itself from those spiritual bastions of slabs of Spain and the Southern Rhône, by virtue of its pinot-esque grace, core of succulent red fruits and spindle of savoury, saltbush tannins. In an era when high quality chardonnay, shiraz, sauvignon and cabernet becomes almost interchangeable, domestic grenache is inimitable. It is sturdy and far from thirsty. It ripens late. Many of our vines are old and well established.
Grenache is meant to be here.
Still, too many wines smell like lolly water. Yields feel too high. Mid-palates are lacking and the oak regime, if applied, is too often all wrong. A surfeit of domestic grenache is treated like second-hand shiraz, rendered in small format, poor quality wood. But the best? Sandy soils, long and gentle agitations, wild ferments, some bunch here and maybe there and a joyous meld of eggs, amphorae and larger format oak and…wow!
Grenache is the ace in a fraying pack.
2020 Yangarra Estate Vineyard Ovitelli Grenache McLaren Vale
Always an exciting proposition. A transparent grenache of pixelated precision. As reminiscent of its nebbiolo brethren as it is of pinot. A shimmering red-fruited veil. Gritty, attenuated tannins derived from old vines (1946) and a long, gentle agitation in ceramic eggs. Here, a spontaneous ferment occurs across an astounding 170 days. Like biting into the juiciest raspberry that bridles the perfect edge of ripeness, before sucking on sandstone. Long is an understatement. This is among Australia’s greatest wines from the country’s finest cultivar.
2021 Aphelion Wine Brini Single Vineyard Grenache McLaren Vale
An exploration of Blewitt Springs, likely the finest subregion for the finest grape in the country – grenache. A single site in the northeast corner on sandy loams. 100% whole-bunch wild fermentation. Pressed to large-format (600L) oak where it remained for 10 months. Very pinot-like. Sandalwood, bergamot, camphor, sapid sour cherry, lapsang and Asian spiced-plum notes drive across a patina of herb-flecked tannins, all skeletal and fibrous. This is very fine. The plumpest of these single-site expressions, yet the most complete.
2019 Samson Tall Hatwell Vineyard McLaren Vale Grenache
78yo bush vines on meagre, sandy Blewitt Springs silica soils. The usual approach: 70/30% whole berry/bunch, ambient-yeast ferment and raised in 1500L foudre for 12 months following 14 days on skins. A stunning wine! Cherry skin, raspberry bon-bon, mint, thyme, rosemary and a slew of other iterations of dried herb. Dense, incredibly compact and firm, yet air in the glass eases the fray into a sheer pleasure zone.
2020 SC Pannell Old McDonald McLaren Vale Grenache
A more successful vintage across the elevated sands of Blewitt Springs than Clarendon. Delicious wine. Kirsch, thyme, dried rosemary, lavender, mint and florals, tiptoeing along a balance beam of fibrous tannins and saline freshness. Nothing drying. A squeaky pucker to the finish. Aussie sweet fruit, to be sure. But tamed. Long, flowing and sandy of aura. Bravo!
2021 Bondar Wines Rayner Vineyard Grenache McLaren Vale
From the cool, attenuated ‘21 vintage, this is a showcase of persimmon, Seville orange and the pithiest pucker from a sour cherry
I am yet to experience. Raspberry bon-bon shifts to the domineering flavour with air.
The tannins, white pepper-clad and moreish. Sandy, saline and gritty. Very fine. A protean expression, shifting endlessly with air to a succulent vibrato. Entrenched in the pantheon of the Vale.
2020 Bekkers McLaren Vale Grenache McLaren Vale
If anybody believes that other varieties in this country can match the world-class persuasions of McLaren Vale grenache they are sorely mistaken. Here, thorough evidence. A rich wine, harnessing the riper tendencies of the vintage while promoting fragrance, a diaphanous levity to the tannic latticework and that uncanny pinosity that makes grenache like this so compelling. Svelte, dense and yet so fresh. Molten raspberry, crushed black rock, Berger spice and orange peel. A faint whiff of mezcal and clove derived from the wholebunch inclusion (20%) imbues additional savouriness. This is very fine.
2021 Paralian Marmont Vineyard Grenache McLaren Vale
Very good. The tannins – long limbed, saline, chalky and gritty – the wine’s opus. A chastity belt across the mid palate. A timbre of tension plying detail and freshness across notes of kirsch, pink grapefruit pulp, mint, clove and orange peel. The finish, a slow build of furled density and sweetness, giving just enough away for pleasure while promising much more.
2021 Ministry of Clouds Grenache McLaren Vale
From warmer and cooler sites: the Trott vineyard’s 1920 plantings and the elevated Smart vineyard in Clarendon (65+ years) respectively. Destemmed, fermented wild and extracted vigorously in the context of grenache. On skins for up to 5 weeks before 9 months in old puncheons. Expressive. Extremely exotic. Lilac, rosewater, bergamot. The mid palate, defined by a gorgeous pinoté: crunchy red fruits, detail and pin-boned tannins. A tad sweet if picking hairs...delicious!
2019 Varney Wines GSM McLaren Vale
Best GSM in the land? Very possibly. Suave, taut, streamlined, savoury. Wonderfully pliant and spicy, with a seasoning (15%) of whole bunches. Mourvèdre’s hung game, to kick off. Clove, anise, pepper, blue and black fruits, cardamom and violet, otherwise. Measured, compact and dense. Perfectly extracted. Each tannin a finely wrought rivet, serving to weld a superb wine of precision and latent force.
2021 Thistledown Sands Of Time Single Vineyard Blewitt Springs Grenache McLaren Vale
Raspberry, lilac and rosehip behind. The tannins, a saline scape of bridling force that stretch from the attack to the long, chalky finish. Delicious. Concrete ferment, layered bunches and destemmed material to promote perfume and a mezcal whiff of the best parts beyond a border of control. Salivasapping energy.