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Producer
Grenache Wizardry -
Region
Heathcote
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RRP
$23
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Vintage
2018
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Variety/Varieties
Grenache
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Alc./Vol.
14.8%
A new wine from a new endeavour led by De Bortoliās ever-restless Steve Webber, this is an earthy, mineral grenache coloured by the ancient soils of Heathcote.
Tasting note
Thereās a rugged earthiness to this, with savoury red fruits smashed against a backdrop of cracked rock and dusty and dry ferrous notes. Thereās plenty of depth and drive to the wine, with spiced plum and sour raspberry notes, black tea and dark spice, but thereās none of the sweet-fruited opulence grenache can show in warmer climates. The palate continues the theme, with red and black fruits set against rugged earthiness, with some generosity of fruit snapped back into line with plum-skin grip and minerality.
Themes of this wine
Grenache
The great grape of the Southern RhĆ“ne, grenache, has also found many homes around the world, from Spain, to Italy, to California, while Australia is home to the worldās oldest productive grenache vines, planted in 1948. Today, a renaissance is seeing the grape championed, with makers in McLaren Vale arguably turning out the most compelling examples.
Heathcote
Heathcote is rugged country, a tinder-dry landscape of rusty iron-rich soils littered with sculpturally stacked granitic boulders. Itās mythical territory, ancient land, and home to some of the worldās oldest viticultural soils. But as a wine region, it is a relatively young one, which saw an explosion of growth in the 90s. Shiraz led the charge, and it became Victoriaās answer to the Barossa or McLaren Vale, producing wines of significant power. But Heathcote is very different to both those places, and it is not that easily defined. Today, shiraz finds myriad expressions, and other varieties are taking a firm grip.
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