Grenache has a complicated history in Australia. First imported in 1832 by James Busby who brought 363 cuttings in from France and Spain, it was, up until the 1960s, our most widely planted and important variety, its naturally high sugar and alcohol levels making it the go-to grape for fortified wine production.
But as consumer demand shifted to table wine in the 1970s, the grape fell out of favour. As a result, many grenache vineyards were lost during the vine-pull scheme in the 1980s, and the fruit off those that survived was largely used in blends, or rosé.
However, even though it only accounts for 1.1% of plantings in Australia today, winemakers and drinkers alike are now appreciating this beautiful, perfumed, mid-weight variety, which has arguably become our most exciting red wine.
Friday September 18 is International Grenache Day. To help you celebrate, we've curated a list of five standout bottles from some of our most exceptional producers.
View the list below. To shop the wines directly, hit the 'buy now' button.
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Grenache wines to try
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S.C.Pannell
Sunset 100 Grenache 2023
McLaren ValeMissing in '22, this is the debut pair to the Sunrise, with these centenarian vines catching the afternoon sun. Two blocks, same material, same age, quite different wines, though kindred. While the Sunrise is a little coiled, a little within itself, this is expressive and lifted, yet no less a wine of future promise. Steve Pannell likes a nebbiolo comparison for grenache, and while that often feels akin to Langhe Nebbiolo or Barbaresco in McLaren Vale, here Barolo is a more apt touchstone. Warm terracotta, papery faded flowers, pomegranate, blood orange, cherry, rosehip, star anise, dried orange peel, dried black cherry, sun-drenched wild fennel seeds. So much going on. A truly stellar wine, resting on a foundation of vigorous but cohesive acidity and a classically ensnaring web of complex natural tannins with resounding length of flavour. A wine of place, and one that I had open for four days without it tiring, rather further revealing itself. Such beauty, such intrigue. A wine to sit back and admire; great by any measure. -
S.C.Pannell
Sunrise 100 Grenache 2023
McLaren ValeThe second release from this home vineyard in Blewitt Springs. The 100 here references 100 years of vintages from these vines (omitting the fledgling unproductive years). All destemmed fruit, old oak, frugal quantities. This sits in a moodier, brooding zone – refined and unadorned, though – with dark red fruits corded into a structure of assertive natural tannin and energetic acidity. Air reveals dried cranberry and cherry, raspberry leaf tea, subdued souk spices, tobacco leaf, rusted iron, dried rose, bergamot, a brooding malty note, like dark rye bread. It’s a wine of many layers, so closely serried that they are initially easy to miss. That compression, the complex weave of tannin, the vibrant drive of acid all mark this as a wine that will age spectacularly. -
d'Arenberg
The Blewitt Springs Grenache 2022
McLaren ValeOne would expect this to be the coolest of the sites for the single-district-grenache trio, but it makes for the most densely fruited and brooding wine. It’s not tilting over the edge; rather, it revels in blue and red fruits and an antique atomiser puff of sultry florals, like an old salon perfume, long forgotten by fashion. Blueberry, tart loganberry, some carbonic feels. Freshly sharpened pencils, lilac. It’s textural, supple, palate-filling but not dominating, the impact one of pleasing persistence. It feels a little indulgent but not shamefully so. -
Wines by Geoff Hardy
Grenache 2024
McLaren ValeSweet-fruited, with cascading raspberry, cherry and redcurrant conserve notes. There’s ample spice as a counterpoint, white pepper and twiggy, mulchy notes, dried hardy herbs and what feels like a savoury input of older oak and whole bunch, which pulls back the exuberance. There’s some headiness to the palate, a core of richness and gentle warmth, though again the combination of linear and chalky, pithy tannins with fine acidity channels the wine to a satisfying conclusion. -
Corryton Burge
Grenache 2024
BarossaMid-crimson with red plum, raspberry and cranberry fruit tones. Hints of Medina spice, wildflowers, berry turnover, cola, earth and dried meats. Sweet, pure, red and dark berry fruit on the palate, some nice layered spice and a bright mineral line with a chalky tannin grip on the finish. Great value.
Top image credit: Corryton Burge.
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