“Grenache… the noblest of red varieties in South Australia?” muses Louis Schofield of Worlds Apart Wines. “As someone who was spoiled drinking a lot of Burgundy, it’s always been the benchmark for me… And I think the path to Burgundian-style terroir-driven wines in SA is one paved with grenache. Between Ochota Barrels and Worlds Apart, I’m lucky to work with five separate old vine grenache vineyards in McLaren Vale, and due to the soils, the microclimates and perhaps clonal variation, the wines couldn’t be more different. …Sounds pretty nerdy, but this is the kind of thing that drives winemakers wild.”
Grenache went into almost terminal decline in the latter half of the 20th century, with that trough deepening in the new millennium. Aside from a largely successful blending exercise inspired by the Southern Rhône, which saw grenache combined with shiraz and mataro/mourvèdre around the 1990s, grenache was very much a secondary variety, and it was treated as such. It was a time when shiraz was asserting itself and grenache had to fit into that shadow.
While many championed that GSM blend and treated it very seriously, others also made it only due to having to do something with the grenache they owned or leased. Varietal grenache certainly had its champions, but their numbers were dwindling, and even for those that cared, the plantings were reduced both physically and relatively.
“I think the path to Burgundian-style terroir-driven wines in SA is one paved with grenache.”
In the former case, South Australia’s vine pull scheme of the 1980s saw vineyard owners subsidised to remove old vines or unwanted varieties. In grenache’s case, both triggers applied, and a precious resource of ancient vines was removed. Mourvèdre was another prominent victim, with around 500 hectares of vines uprooted across all varieties, and countless more grafted over, and largely to a grape that now has little commercial value in places like the Barossa: chardonnay.
Unsurprisingly, grenache was subsequently rarely planted, while shiraz vineyards exploded, increasing by over sevenfold by 2010. In short, grenache was flatlining after the misguided vine pull scheme ended, but its relative importance was being hammered by shiraz. Today, with a new view on the grape, makers are pushing the grape into new territory, which is happily seeing it planted once again, while the price per tonne of old vine fruit has skyrocketed.
“Today, it’s wonderful to see grenache being respected by the people growing it, people making it and more and more by people drinking it here in Australia,” says Charlie Seppelt of Paralian. “It wasn’t long ago it was cropped up, ripened very late and not so popular with consumers.”
Seppelt and his wife Skye Salter make their grenache in what many regard as Australia’s spiritual home of grenache, McLaren Vale, from an old parcel in Blewitt Springs. “Grenache makes delicious rosé, does light, bright and fresh reds incredibly well, but really imposes its authority as a medium-framed dry red, highlighting purity and fragrance with a weight of tannin that delivers some of the most intriguing red wines from McLaren Vale – world class, you might well say,” says Seppelt.
“Grenache makes delicious rosé, does light, bright and fresh reds incredibly well, but really imposes its authority as a medium-framed dry red, highlighting purity and fragrance with a weight of tannin.”
Although the amount of grenache in the Vale is only very modest, occupying about 6 per cent of vineyard land, Seppelt believes that its future is immense, and that there should be much more of it planted. “For McLaren Vale, its versatility season after season just makes sense that it should be grown here,” he says. “It’s pretty tough, handles hot weather well, drought conditions, too, and with an open growing structure, it does well in tricky seasons.”
Andrew Kenny’s Kenny Wine is based in the Clare Valley, which is a little outside the spotlight for the grenache reinvention, but that’s certainly changing. “We love the evolution and history of grenache in the Clare Valley,” he says. “The vineyard we’re working with was planted in 1961 for fortified production, has spent some of its life going into rosé, and now in its adult life to dry red. This seems to be a bit of a trend in the Valley, with some people making rosé out of 80-year-old vines up until a couple years ago… It’s a bloody versatile grape.”
“Grenache makes such crowd-pleasing wines that tread the line of seriousness and drinkability so well.”
The Clare, aside from a few stars like Adelina, may not be the first place people think of for grenache, but Kenny believes that the potential not just there but from many other regions is immense. “I love grenache across all of Australia, and the subtle differences you pick up in the wines dependent on where it’s grown. Grenache is insanely exciting in Oz at the moment, with producers emphasising site and subregions. We play in sandy loam territory with lots of broken stone and the resulting wines are lush but restrained. They have a core of tannin and spice, along with the classic grenache slip.”
That core of tannin is something that was previously somewhat absent from many Australian grenaches. Or rather, it was either cloaked with oak-derived tannin or tannin additions. While grenache is not generally aggressively tannic, sensitive making is seeing fine but assertive grape-derived tannin making its presence felt, with both the flavour and structure of newer oak abandoned to let the grape and sense of place shine.
“Great red wines require tannin,” says Seppelt. “It’s a latticework for the longevity of the wine, a building platform for fruit to intertwine with, and importantly, it’s a natural preservative. For us, it’s an imperative part of any red wine we make but especially so in grenache…”
Given the age of the vines he works with, Kenny notes that most of their viticultural decisions are based on preserving and not stressing the vines, with complexity of structure and flavour built through harvesting times and subtle winemaking. “We do a couple of picks in the vineyard and then play around with it in the winery for different blending options. A bit of whole bunch here, some cab mac there. Straight to older oak then to bottle. Nothing fancy – just trying to show balanced wines and celebrate the vintage.”
That lack of intrusion on the wine is something that Schofield echoes. “For us, early picking, loads of whole bunch, particularly on sandy sites, and a thoughtful approach to macerations are all steps to build tannin and structure without weight and really put a megaphone in front of that terroir… without losing sight that the whole idea is to make delicious wine.”
Over in Western Australia’s Swan Valley, Tom Daniel is taking the grenache revival very seriously. The Swan, much like grenache, has suffered somewhat of an image problem until recently. With Margaret River hogging the spotlight, the hot climate Swan was largely seen as a functional rather than aspirational region. When Daniel moved back from Melbourne to make wine in his father’s rudimentary winery, it was with the intention of crafting lo-fi midweight wines with grenache the hero red variety.
The Swan is a region that easily produces big and confected wines, but that was never going to fit Daniel’s direction, which emphasises drinkability and freshness. “I’m careful to control the sweetness and confectionary character that grenache carries – I sort of beat it out of it… I think there’s a balance of achieving a sort of degradation of the inherent raspberry sweetness that helps shape grenache more towards the light-bodied Italian-style reds that have power, fine tannin and a genuine savoury edge that I love dearly.”
Like Schofield and Kenny, Daniel says building complexity through picking at different ripeness levels and adding layers gently in the winery is key. “Grenache has such inherent prettiness,” he continues. “But, for me, it doesn’t hold balance with higher alcohols, which makes it a challenge to get power and punch into a wine. I try to build dynamic shape and texture via a huge amount of variation of ferment duration and technique. …Élevage is a mix of barrique, puncheon, Slavonian oak foudre, concrete, ceramic and stainless steel. …For me, blending of a lot of very different components is key.”
Sourcing fruit from Ballarat and Central Victoria, Jean-Paul Trijsburg makes a grenache rosé from Heathcote, but in 2022 it took a different turn. “I have to admit, the Grenache ‘Blanc de Noir’ was not meant to be a blanc,” he says. “In 2021, I made a rosé from the same fruit, and it was really flavoursome and well-received. I intended to make a similar wine in 2022 and did the same as the year before… Well, it turned out the colour extracted during the pressing had all disappeared after the fermentation. The taste, however, was amazing.”
Trijsburg’s winemaking process was well-suited to making a textural wine, with the hand-picked fruit gently pressed in a pneumatic press before fermentation with indigenous yeast in 5-year-old oak. It also rang some very clear bells for the winemaker. “I studied winemaking in Montpellier and being so close to the Rhône, I drank a fair few Rhône reds and whites. In Australia, we are all familiar with the GSM varieties; however, Rhône whites are lesser known. …The wine is different from grenache blanc, though… It reminds me of Rhône marsanne and roussanne blends.”
And while the direction may have come about accidently, it was certainly a happy accident, and one that shows the versatility of the grape and deserves repeating. “I am really pleased with the balance of the wine, as its flavoursome but not heavy, round but still fresh and just incredibly drinkable,” says Trijsburg. “I like how the wine matches so well with cheeses, from parmesan, cheddar to camembert and Dutch gouda. The Grenache also goes well with chicken dishes and creamy risotto.”
Grenache is undoubtedly on the rise, though with current plantings, it will certainly not saturate the market anytime soon. However, its proven ability to survive tough, hot conditions along with its ability to produce a broad range of styles make it an enticing prospect. That range of styles can go from the earthy, brooding and structured to the light and jubey with an ever-growing range in between.
“Working predominantly with grenache is perfect for me at this juncture of what I’m trying to achieve along with modern tastes,” concludes Daniel. “Grenache makes such crowd-pleasing wines that tread the line of seriousness and drinkability so well. I often find the wines I make that I think aren’t hitting the mark of my dreamy view of shooting for the stars of Barbaresco-esque power are the most popular wines I release – it’s a nice consolation prize.”
This is modern grenache but with a nod to tradition, with a dark and earthy tone, which feels very much of place, across a nose of ripe raspberry, dried herbs and a dusting of spice. There’s a savoury, ferrous and saline kick on the palate, with a mineral thread carrying through, upholstered with wild forest fruits, a line of ultra-fine but impactful tannin closing out.
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Wild raspberry, strawberry and pomegranate feature on the nose, along with red floral notes and dusty earthy accents. There’s a brightness here, but it’s also a wine of intensity. The palate has that lithe lift of red fruits, and while there’s concentration, there’s no rich sweetness, rather a bright freshness wrapped in a white peppery spice note, fine but grippy tannin and relatively brisk acidity refreshing through the finish.
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This is bright and forward but with a savoury side to it, too. Punchy notes of wild red fruits, rose petals, and tart boysenberry with white pepper, anise and a gentle woodsy herb note accenting. This is on the cooler end of ripeness, but there’s a supple fruitfulness to it, giving some flex in the mid-palate that’s very pleasing, that savouriness catching up and pulling the wine into a tasty, dry and refreshingly moreish finish.
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This is pitched in the more elegant end of grenache, but there’s weight and texture here, too. The nose is very much red fruited, with lifted notes of rose petal and a gentle suggestion of musk against a backdrop of earthiness, bay leaf and warm spices. There’s brightness on the palate, the subtle rounding out from old oak ageing, and a pleasing edge of pithy, brick-dusty, grapey tannins, with tart wild fruits extending through the finish.
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This is juicy and forward in a red-fruited and vibrant way, with notes of wild raspberry, cranberry and pomegranate, scented with white pepper and gravelly mineral notes. The play of freshness and savoury tension continues on the palate, with an interplay of ripe fruit and a lick of zippy acidity combining with snappy tannins to give this real freshness.
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There are dark, spicy notes here to pair with raspberry and red cherry fruit character, with caraway, rye and panforte chiming in. There’s a leathery quality, a savouriness, but it’s underpinned by bright fruit and a general vibrancy, touches of liquorice, black cherry and amaro also having their say. It’s a wine of freshness and savoury drive, with that echoing through the grippy but vibrant finish.
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There’s a brooding quality here, but it’s not a big wine, just one with the pedal pressed on leathery savouriness and darkly spiced red fruits. The palate has a sinewy, taut quality of grippy tannin and a lick of punchy acidity, with tart forest fruits hanging off the structure, rosehip, dried raspberry and a cranberry pithiness closing out.
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A white wine from a red grape, this has the faintest coppery tone and an almost lavish lift of orchard fruits from ripe golden apples to clingstone peach, yellow plum and poached pear. The pitch is certainly fresh, but there’s ample slippery texture, gently luscious fruit and a dusting of brown spices complexing the equation. That generosity creeps through across the back palate, with a subtle chew of grape tannin lifting the savoury side through the long palate.
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Grenache made in a modern, lightly poised way, but it’s got some serious savoury character going on, with a leathery, nutty quality and a boot-kick of baked earth dusting the wild red fruits, cloves and lilt of rose petals. There’s a herbal quality that kicks in on the palate, with perhaps a little whole bunch, and an appealing sour-fruited profile, with a chewy and tart food-friendly carry, finishing with red apple flavour and acidity.
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This is a distinctly elegant expression, but there’s a plump of fruit intensity and it’s unquestionably bright fruited. Rather, the richness is pulled back a little bit to reveal layers of detail, with earthiness intertwined with pretty florals over red forest fruits, rosehip, brown cardamom, white pepper and cinnamon. That carries through to the palate, aligned with a silky suppleness, finely aligned grape tannins and a distinct but harmonious freshness of acidity.
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In this fifth instalment of a seven-part series produced in collaboration with Vintage Cellars – 70 years of supporting wine in Australia – we look at Australian wine in the 1990s, the Parker effect, the rise of cool wine regions, flying winemakers and the science of wine.
Macedon takes the prize for being the coolest wine region on the mainland, with some touting it as the best territory for chardonnay and pinot noir in the country. Evidence of that potential, aside from some glittering exceptions, haven’t exactly been crowding wine store shelves over the years, but much has changed, and there’s a dynamic community ensuring that potential is being tapped in exciting ways.
When you’re responsible for some of the oldest vines in the world, it demands a particular thoughtfulness for each decision made – one wrong pruning cut could be very telling for the following year’s fruit. With a deep understanding of her family’s vineyard – and the wider realms of agriculture – Prue Henschke has been elevating the Henschke wines for over three decades.
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