Latest news with #McLarenVale
The Australian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Glorious grenache from McLaren Vale's old vines
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 $271.62. Order online or phone 1300 765 359 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.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The $12.99 red wine named the 'best value' in Australia: 'The ultimate after work drop'
A South Australian red wine has been singled out as the 'best value' shiraz – and it retails for under $13. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, the $12.99 bottle has emerged as an affordable way for Aussies to enjoy a quality tipple. The results of Dan Murphy's 'Best In Glass' wine awards were recently announced, with the Shingleback Red Knot Shiraz named as this year's winner in the 'best value' shiraz category. The McLaren Vale red wine is priced at a highly reasonable retail price and reviews of the wine have seen it scored a respectable 4.3 out of 5 stars. Delighted reviewers have praised it as a good value drinking wine for casual occasions. 'Easy to drink and very pleasant on the palate,' read one review. 'Very well balanced,' said another, adding that it was a good drop for 'after work or before dinner'. Meanwhile, red wine connoisseurs that prefer a cabernet sauvignon over a shiraz will only have to cough up a dollar extra to try the winner in that category. The $12.99 bottle of Shingleback Red Knot Shiraz from the McLaren Vale region took out the award for 'best value' shiraz K by Krondorf Cabernet Sauvignon from the Barossa Valley retails for $13.99 per bottle and took out the 'best value' title for cab sauvs, which are always popular with Aussie drinkers. There was also a budget-friendly result for white wine drinkers, with this year's 'best value' winner in the sauvignon blanc category clocking in at under $15. Noble Fellows Sauvignon Blanc, which is a New Zealand wine from the Martinborough region, won the 'best value' category with its $14.99 bottle. Dan Murphy's General Manager of Premium and Luxury Andrew Shedden confirmed that some of this year's winners offered 'unbelievable value'. Andrew noted that while 'there was fierce competition across the board' the judging panel were blown away by 'the unbelievable value that traditional reds like Shiraz and Cabernet are providing'. To be considered for the Best in Glass wine awards, a wine needs to be available nationally in Dan Murphy's stores and priced under the $50 mark. In 2025, over 700 eligible wines were considered by the panel in a multi-stage judging process. The wines were re-tasted and scored by a panel, with the final tally used to determine the winners in each category. The awards are categorised by wine type, with each category having three prizes. There's the overall 'best' winner, then a 'best value' winner and a 'best international' winner. Andrew explained that the awards were conceived as a way to help shoppers navigate the tricky wine shelves. 'Choosing a wine can be intimidating. There is so much choice on shelves, so without a clear starting point, it can be overwhelming,' Andrew said. This year's winners featured wines from a cross-section of Australia's top wine regions, with South Australia leading the charge. 13 wines produced in either the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley were among the winners list. Wine connoisseurs will have the chance to sample some of this year's Best in Glass winning wines when Dan Murphy hosts a ticketed in-store tasting events on Saturday 17 May. Tickets to the event cost $20 – but the cost is redeemable on the day for in-store purchases. The link to purchase tickets to the wine testing event is HERE. Event-goers will have the opportunity to participate in a session with a knowledgeable wine expert and sample a selection of this year's Best in Glass champions. Each participating store will host two sessions that cater for up to 200 people. The in-store wine tasting events will take place at five Dan Murphy's stores around the country, including Malvern East in Melbourne VIC, Kawana on the Sunshine Coast QLD, Marion in Adelaide SA, Bicton in Perth WA and Leichhardt in Sydney NSW.
