This is a ripping autumn drink. Great fruit. Great texture. Interest all round. Hello to the Head Wines Les Blancs 2023.
It's a blend of White Grenache, Viognier and Savagnin (50/30/15) with a dollop of Vermentino.
But White Grenache?? I assumed it was Grenache Gris but I'm wrong. This from Alex Head, "In 2008, in looking for neutrality, high acidity, etc, I had already started using white varieties to acidify my red wines, and these old beauties gave me another string for the bow. A little research found that they were planted in 1953 from cuttings off the Helbig vineyard in Greenock (now owned by the Ashmead family). The variety was pencilled in at the time as ‘White Grenache’ and was then controversially, during the 70’s, identified by visiting Oenologists as ‘possibly Biancone’. The mystery continued and a DNA test was ordered but I’ll keep the results under wraps for now as I prefer the original naming."
Be sure not to serve this too cold so you see it in all its glory.
Slight honey tones wrap themselves around a core of canned pears and juicy Meyer lemon. Fresh apricots find some wriggle room and slowly move forward. Slivers of ginger join dried thyme and some roasted cashews. The sheet of grippy, powdery tannin just hits and sticks almost refusing to move. Cheese boards to chicken or just bathe in the glory of a sunset. You choose. This is a fabulous drink.
Drink to three years.
93/100
Region: Barossa
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