Latest news with #grenache
The Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
The Australian Wine Club: great deal on Grenache
It must be the greatest make-over in Australian wine. From after-thought to august; from whatever to wow! We're talking about grenache, the Cinderella of Australian grapes, now dancing on the wine lists of great restaurants around the world. Australia is home to the oldest grenache vines on the planet – the Barossa's Cirillo family trace their bush vines back to 1850 – but these botanical treasures weren't recognised as such until a new generation of winemakers started experimenting 10 to 15 years ago. One of those pioneers, Thistledown's Giles Cooke, is the winemaker behind one of the stars of The Australian Wine Club's celebration of grenache this week, with his highly rated 2024 Thorny Devil a flagwaver for a new contemporary style. In our dozen deal, Penny's Hill 95-point The Experiment Grenache 2021 joins Bleasdale's nicely pitched Langhorne Creek Grenache 2023 and a classic Barossa grenache blend from artisan producer, Schwarz Wine Co. Grenache was a vital component in the fortified wines that drove Australia's wine industry in the early 1900s but was left in the shadow of shiraz when table wines came to the fore over the past 50 years. With shiraz taking priority, grenache's fate was to be left to hang on vines for too long, over-ripening the berries and stripping away natural acid, resulting in dull wines with higher-than-desirable alcohol levels. As a result, straight grenache wines were seen as offering little more than a 'cheap and cheerful' drinking option – far from the exalted wines made in France's Chateauneuf du Pape and Spain's Priorat region. Then, around 2010, something happened: a new breed of winemakers like Cooke, with vintages under their belt in European grenache strongholds, recognised Australia's unique old-vine wealth and devoted themselves to the pursuit of grenache greatness. It also helped that long-neglected grenache growers were happy to sell their grapes at low prices, enabling young winemakers to innovate. 'From the get go, it was really about trying to do something to keep these old vineyards in the ground,'' says Paddy Gilhooly, Thistledown's co-proprietor. 'A lot of growers were having trouble selling their grapes. We thought grenache is such a rich part of Australia's viticultural history, it deserved better.' Thistledown winemaker Giles Cooke, left, during harvest in McLaren Vale. Rather than leaving the grapes on vines until late in the season, winemakers like Cooke focused on picking the fruit at a more optimum time when the grapes were showing a balance between sweetness, acidity and tannin. 'We pick on the way up rather than on the way down,' says Cooke, a Master of Wine. The Thistledown crew have also found that vines grown in sandy soils tend to produce wines with particularly lifted aromatics. The ancient sands of Blewitt Springs, in the northern reaches of McLaren Vale, have become highly regarded by those chasing this delicate style of complex Australian grenache. Think of fresh aromas of raspberries, red currant and strawberries, with a hint of pomegranate and orange rind, perhaps, and spicy, savoury characters adding layers of flavour. 'Grenache is being seen as a gateway wine for lovers of pinot noir – people who like lighter, fresher wines that also go well with food,'' says Gilhooly, who has been on the Thistledown train since 2014. 'Like pinot, you can really see the terroir in grenache – the different characters that come from different sites. You see that in good Burgundy and Barolo (made from nebbiolo in Italy's north).' Fourteen years after their first vintage in 2011, Thistledown can show off a portfolio of extremely limited single vineyard offerings from old McLaren and Barossa sites (wines like Sands of Times, This Charming Man, Fool on the Hill and She's Electric) as well as high quality, multi-vineyard grenache like Thorny Devil and the entry level Gorgeous Grenache range. With awards like the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion's Grenache of the Year, and 'by the glass' listings at Michelin-starred and top-hatted restaurants from Barcelona and London to New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, there's no question Thistledown and Australian grenache has arrived on the world stage. 'There's a lot of buzz about grenache and there's much more consumer awareness now but there's still a need for education,'' Gilhooly says. The best way to be educated, of course, is to try these wines yourself. Thistledown Thorny Devil McLaren Vale Grenache 2024 From dry grown vines at least 50 years old. Pretty aromatics of raspberries, red cherries, redcurrants and rose flowers, with hints of clove, sarsaparilla, a smudge of garden herbs and pepper spice. Pristine fruit flows through layers of flavours, with fresh acid and mellow tannins on the way to a lingering finish. Over delivers. 93 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc; RRP $36. SPECIALS $34.50 a bottle in any dozen; $23.99 a bottle in grenache dozen Penny's Hill The Experiment McLaren Vale Grenache 2021 Decadent aromas of dark cherries, plums, cedar, spice and vanilla and nutmeg. Intense ripe black cherries wash through the palate, with liquorice and anise hints. Creamy texture. Rich, generous and gorgeous. 95 points, Wine Orbit. 14.5% alc; RRP $45. SPECIALS $42.99 a bottle in any dozen; $23.99 a bottle in grenache dozen Bleasdale Langhorne Creek Grenache 2023 Cherry, strawberry and raspberry scents lift from the glass, with milk chocolate and a touch of aniseed and minty herbs. Juicy fruit (red berry and sour cherry), fine-grained tannins and crunchy acidity drive to a lovely fresh finish. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 13.5% alc; RRP $30. SPECIALS $27.99 a bottle in any dozen; $23.99 a bottle in grenache dozen Schwarz The Grower Barossa Valley GSM 2022 Classical Rhone-style blend. Scents of strawberry, raspberry, plum and mushroom lead to a beautifully composed palate, with rich fruit flavours joined by savoury nuances of cured meats, spice and earthy undertones. 92 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14% alc; RRP $32 a bottle. SPECIALS $29.99 a bottle in any dozen; $23.99 a bottle in grenache dozen GRENACHE DOZEN Three bottles of each wine above for $23.99 a bottle. SAVE $141. Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm AEST and quote 'ACCJ'. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine.
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.
