The Wines
-
2009 Grenache
Alcohol: 14.6 %v/v
Ph: 3.54
TA: 6.4g/l
Residual Grape Sugar: 3.5g/l
Blended:November 2010 to January 2011
Bottled: 24th February 2011
Released: Easter Weekend 2011
Food thought:
Kangaroo tail cooked on mallee root charcoal, ...Dessert Jamaican Christmas cake? Call me for the recipe.
Time in tomb:
8 years or so; I like the pretty youthful perfumes of this wine, age will morph the wine in a brackish direction; which is great if you like earthy older wines.
2009 Grenache
As suggested in previous Goss I have found this variety to be most sensitive to season, soil and site. In no two vintage does it seem to have sameness. 2009 being a vintage of moderation has resulted in a Grenache that is pretty and exotic. It is definitely a wine that is easily bruised. Like a cattle dog it can be a mongrel that needs work but will respond ten fold with a little love from its handler.
Have you ever smelled a sweet almond from the tree just before the cockies get them? Then think of wandering through a Turkish bazaar or open markets spilling over with spices. Maybe a potpourri of Australian natives? There are many other subtle notes of liquorice root, aniseed, dark chocolate, liquorice allsorts, raspberry, chocolate bullets, a little cheeky dab of Pedro Ximenez.
The tastes are strongly linked to the aroma. A matrix of vibrant fresh berry fruits, zesty blood orange rind, sweet roasted capsicum and maybe black olive Tapenade. A sticky chocolate and fig pudding with a complementary bitterness of a Campari shot, tangy without tart.
We have had quite a journey with Old Vine Grenache in our region for well over a hundred years and for me more recently over the last fifteen or so. It is most engaging to make every year and polarising to taste. Prepare to be dumbfounded, amazed and satisfied all in the same mouthful. Turn off the lights to taste.
Geology/ Paddock:
Year in, year out the growers of this heritage fruit keep faith in these old vine blocks in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale. Depressing low yields make for some insane wine unmatched anywhere in the world. No I am not bragging either. The fruit historically has been used for port and now I use it for dry table wine. These fields tend to be composed of deep white sands; reflection so bright in summer they could give you snow blindness. I think Grenache enjoys light but not heat. These sands are a result of a glacial push of ocean sediments to the higher peaks. The roots of these vines sit a long way down in yellow clays. The vines have taken time to find their feet so I don’t try to harness them; just listen.
