07-03-2025
The new-style grenache reds to try
I first heard the term 'nostril-singe-er' while tasting garnacha in Spain. I'm not talking operatics but the gentle heat that shoots up your nose when you take a sniff of a wine that is toppy in the alcohol department. This one said 15.5% ABV on the label; I suspect it was actually higher, very likely making full use of the 0.5% error margin allowed by labelling regulations. Perhaps my colleague's verdict wouldn't have been so dismissive if we'd been talking Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the southern Rhône classic usually anchored on grenache, whose fiery flare of alcohol is normally spoken of in more poetic terms. But, either way, garnacha (in Spain) – or grenache (France and elsewhere) – is experiencing a renaissance and the style winemakers are now veering towards is different: less blowsy and at least a touch less boozy.
It's out with pom-pom-like richness, or the deep dive into a plump velvet mattress that you find in, say, Priorat garnacha, and in with sleeker, more perfumed expressions. If trad grenache can be chunkily textured, often blended with syrah and mourvèdre (as in southern France and Australia where the combo is known as GSM), contemporary grenache is increasingly vinified as a standalone.
Often made from grapes grown at altitude, or picked a little earlier for a fresher wine, it might be translucent, throwing stained-glass colours. Also, silky, more refined, and pulling back on the lavish notes of baked fruit to let in tarter notes of fresh pomegranate, hibiscus, blood-orange peel, and savoury herbs. Mention this style and the wine dudes will all drop the name Comando G, an uber-trendy producer based in the Sierra de Gredos, a mountainous region to the west of Madrid, whose tremblingly fine garnachas sell for upwards of £100 a bottle. Clearly that's way beyond my budget and very likely yours. So where to go?
In short, Australia, Spain and South Africa. Grenache vines thrive in heat and drought. They have strong, upright growth that means they can readily be trained in bush form which helps the plant survive, happily throwing a stippled shade on even the most parched slopes. This makes them an increasingly popular planting choice for winemakers struggling with the challenges posed by climate change but you can also find old vines, with more concentrated fruit, in some of the world's hottest, driest vineyard areas.
