Glorious grenache from McLaren Vale's old vines

The Australian

20-05-2025

Who needs a sun dial? You can have a decent stab at working out the time of day by the colour of the wine in Bryn Richards' glass.
The 'lunchtime' offerings on the website of his Grant Nash label include a straight grenache, the 'dinner' options include a heavier mourvedre/grenache/shiraz blend … and if you jokingly ask about breakfast: 'Well, there's always the rose,' he says.
That's the whole point of the McLaren Vale winery Richards established with wife Sophie and their old friends, Sam and Caroline Martin, in 2022. They're deadly serious about the quality of the grenache-focused output. 'But we don't take ourselves too seriously,' Richards says. 'Wine should be fun as well, it should be a part of life and it doesn't have to be all scary descriptors and stuff that might put people off.'
That intriguing MGS blend from Grant Nash – and we'll get to that name in a moment – is a leading part of this week's grenache-themed special-offer case from The Australian Wine Club.
It also includes a 95-point GSM blend from d'Arenberg that usually retails at $78 a bottle, a 94-point, gold-winning grenache from Purple Hands, and Hentley Farm's Barossa GSM.
As a collective, the case offers a meander through the way a single grape can inspire such different wines, especially with the lineage involved – some of the grenache in the Grant Nash MGS, for instance, comes from vines in their ninth decade.
Of the four on offer this week, though, it's safe to say only one has taken its name from a delicious mistake by predictive text. Richards is delighted to give credit where it's due after Siri converted one of his voicemails to text – and accidentally transcribed grenache as Grant Nash.
For a winemaker about to bottle his first vintage of a nascent label, but needing a 'kind of pseudonym' while he completed head winemaking duties at another South Australian winery, it was just too perfect.
'It worked on a few different levels and I guess it kind of sums up our philosophy a bit as well,' Richards says. 'We're very, very serious about the wine itself and I've always just loved the versatility of grenache.
'We've got a grenache gris we'll be bottling in a few months, we make a delicious rose and any number of different red blends. It can be bright, breezy and floral or darker and more concentrated.
'I love the fine tannins and it's just so food-friendly … plus I love where it's from in the south of France.'
Grenache in McLaren Vale has its own storied history, since the first cuttings were planted in the mid-19th century by European settlers.
Some of those venerable vines are still happily providing a harvest each year, their deep roots navigating the Vale's unique subsoils to find water even in times of drought.
'In McLaren Vale we're lucky to have such a treasure trove of all these old vines, which arguably grow some of Australia's greatest grenache,' Richards adds.
'The grenache component (in his MGS) is from a block that was planted in 1941. There's a reasonable amount of vineyards or blocks of that age in the McLaren Vale, and some from the late 1800s.
'I really think you can taste that complexity and everything that comes from those old vines.'
Grant Nash McLaren Vale Mourvedre Grenache Shiraz 2022
This intriguing reordering of the more common GSM blend is a symphony with intensity on the nose, full of dark cherry, blueberry, cocoa, vanilla and chocolate. A well-structured palate offers earthy, herbal notes, rich, sweet fruit, and firm tannins that would welcome a dish of roast duck with open arms. 14% alc, RRP $45 a bottle.
SPECIALS $41.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen.
d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2019
There's so much complexity buried within this, all of which will slowly make itself known given a few hours of decanting. Then you'll breathe in dark fruit and bitter chocolate, cigar notes, a waft of lavender and red currant – and the palate has more of that bitter chocolate and mocha, dried herbs and a savoury lick with pronounced tannins. Cut open a medium-rare steak next to that decanter and enjoy. 95 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc, RRP $78 a bottle.
SPECIALS $74.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen.
Purple Hands Old Vine Barossa Valley Grenache 2022
Fresh, vibrant fruit abounds from the glass on the first sniff, headlined by raspberry and sour cherry, with a hint of juniper and a balancing edge of tobacco. More concentrated red fruits come through on the palate and bathe in a crunchy acidity that delivers a very more-ish mouthful. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14% alc, RRP $35 a bottle.
SPECIALS $27.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen.
Hentley Farm Villain & Vixen Barossa Valley GSM 2023
When sweetness and spice combine, the result is a silky-smooth GSM with lovely balance. There's floral notes, cherry and redcurrant on the nose mingling with white pepper, pink peppercorn and smoky tones. The palate is packed with lashings of red strawberry, cherry and raspberry held in the grip of a restrained acidity. 14.5% alc, RRP $24.50 a bottle.
SPECIALS $22.99 in any dozen, $22.99 in our Grenache dozen.
GRENACHE DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $22.99 a bottle.SAVE $271.62.
Order online or phone [phone] Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550.