I've had a couple of Grenache wines come across the tasting bench from the Smart Vineyard in recent weeks. If only the stars aligned and I was able to see them all side by side. Regardless, this is a great expression and one I'd more than happily recommend.
From loamy soils over red-brown clay planted in 1922 and sits 220 metres above, whole berries were fermented and then matured on lees for 10 months.
An excitable type, dark cherries dance with a suggestion of drunken cherry, cranberries and red currants. A flash of chocolate whizzes by with a delicious tempo of measured spice keeping the beat. There's an undeniable vitality here but then the soils start to speak adding some density. Drying to finish, those spices have an absorbing presence that keeps you hooked. A little earthiness and dried herb plant themselves on a persistent and moreish finish. Classy stuff.
Drink to eight years.
94/100
Region: McLaren ValeSource: Sample