Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 51

Year's Best South Australia Mediterranean Varieties
flavors. Only a few sites in its native Rioja
grow a ripe and complete graciano; here's a
vineyard on the other side of the world that
can. § Cabernet Corp., Novato, CA

to oxygen, an elegant grenache with the
distinctive profile of the grape grown in
Barossa's sands. Don't miss it. § Vine Street
Imports, Mount Laurel, NJ

GRE N A C H E
BAROSSA
126029

96 | An Approach to
Relaxation

$58

2017 Barossa Valley Sucette Grenache ^
The cool, late-ripening 2017 season played
right into the hands of Carla Rzeszewski and
Richard Betts, the sommelier power-couple
behind An Approach to Relaxation. That was
the year they purchased a 12-acre parcel of
dry-farmed grenache vines, mostly planted
between 1860 and 1880, growing in the deep
sands of Vine Vale. The vines had contributed
fruit to Sucette's 2016 vintage, and provided
more than half of the 2017 (by 2019, Sucette
was entirely from that estate parcel). They
make the wine half a mile away, fermenting
it with some whole clusters in open-top vats,
then aging it in old French oak barrels. Open
the bottle and pour a glass: You'll get a blast
of peppery grenache, the bright sunlight
stored in the fruit immediately released. It
might be worth the price of admission if the
wine went south then and there, but that
sunny energy and the sand-driven tannins
only gain dynamism with air; the delicate
strawberry, the darker black raspberry
depths, the lavender fragrance and unreal
length of flavor make the wine compellingly
drinkable for days. A Barossa classic
reimagined (think Robert O'Callaghan's
great Dry-Grown Grenache vintages at
Rockford Basket Press), this is a wine that
has held fast in my memory for weeks after
tasting it. The only downside in buying a case
is the separation anxiety you are likely to feel
on opening the last bottle, and the cravings
that may come after finishing it. § Broadbent
Selections, Richmond, VA
126009

94 | Geyer

$35

2018 Barossa Sands Grenache ^ Dave Geyer
makes this dynamic grenache from 85-yearold vines growing in the sands of Vine Vale.
He destems half the bunches, then takes the
fruit through fermentation, basket pressing
and aging the wine in neutral oak before
bottling, managing the process without any
additions. There is no sulfur added to this
wine and nothing holding back its energy,
glinting in facets of light, its mineral power
delivered through peach-red fruit, scents of
orange blossoms and a deep well of tannins.
This is remarkably fresh and resistant

94 | Schild Estate

$30

2017 Barossa Valley Edgar Schild Reserve
Old Bush Vine Grenache ^ Barossa's old
bush-vine grenache responded beautifully
to the cool, late season in 2017. If you want
proof, look no further than this elegant
raspberry- and strawberry-scented red. Its
tannins carry the gentle sandy texture and
the subtle tarry highlights of classic Barossa
grenache, grounding the tart fruit, seeming
to transform it into flowers. The flavors and
scents and textures of the wine keep giving
more pleasure with each sip. § USA Wine West,
Sausalito, CA
126181

92 | Powell & Son

$250

2017 Barossa Valley Brennecke Grenache ^
Dave and Callum Powell make this wine
from a vineyard in Seppeltsfield, where the
dry-grown bush vines were planted in 1901.
Maybe I have always coveted the black GT
Falcon V8 Interceptor, the car that Mad Max
drove as long as he could keep it together.
This wine immediately brought to mind the
fierce speed of that car as it raced through
the Australian Outback. Its sweet fruit is
superripe but not overripe, that sweetness
invested in the scent of road tar, which may
be the Interceptor connection. Whatever it
is, this wine makes me smile. § Powell & Son
USA, Carlsbad, CA

MCL AREN VALE
126011

94 | Paxton

$30

2019 McLaren Vale Grenache ^ This grows
at Paxton's Landcross Farm, surrounding
the family's winery in Seaview, and at their
Thomas Block. The vines are farmed under
biodynamics, certified since 2011. And the
wine shows that care in farming through
its generous red-currant fruit intensity,
along with the sort of mineral austerity
that will convince fans of Rhône to consider
Aussie grenache. It's packed with tension,

continuing to grow more delicious as that
youthful structure opens toward richness. §
Cabernet Corp., Novato, CA
126013

93 | Oliver's Taranga

$35

93 | Thistledown

$45

93 | Thistledown

$75

92 | d'Arenberg

$29

2019 McLaren Vale Grenache ^ Corrina
Wright is the sixth-generation of her family
to tend vines at the property William Oliver
first planted in Seaview in the 1840s. The
vines that produced this grenache date to
1965, planted in shallow red-brown loam
over limestone. At first, this has the richness
of garnacha from Rioja, the tannins dense
with a beeswax character, calling for roast
eggplant stuffed with lamb. Later, with
a few hours of air, the fruit comes out-
transparent earthy red berries-and the
tannins have turned brisk, showing the
underlying limestone edifice of the wine's
structure. A graceful grenache. § Epicurean
Wines, Seattle, WA
126024
2019 Blewitt Springs The Vagabond Old
Vine Grenache ^ This grows at several parcels
in Blewitt Springs, all dry farmed bush vines,
all planted on sand over ironstone. This wine
fermented spontaneously in two portions:
Two thirds of it was left alone in concrete, in
layers of whole bunches and crushed fruit.
The rest was hand plunged in an open-top
fermenter. Whatever that might bring to the
wine, it's pretty delicious, the Blewitt Springs
sands delivering a beautifully fresh grenache
in layers of red fruit-currant, strawberry,
cranberry and red-apple skin. The airy, super
mineral tannins bring some dark green-olive
tones. § Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, CA
126023
2019 Clarendon This Charming Man
Single Vineyard Grenache ^ From a parcel
of dry-farmed bush vines trained high to let
in air and sun, this grenache fermented with
ambient yeasts and some whole clusters (20
percent). It's light and fragrant in its appleblossom scents, then powerful in the ironfiling rip of the tannins. The pretty red fruit
makes it graceful despite its weight, in a
linebacker sort of way. Firm, juicy and built
to last. § Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, CA
126163
2018 McLaren Vale The Derelict Vineyard
Grenache ^ The ancient vines that deliver this
grenache were once abandoned and about to
be pulled out after fortified wines lost favor
and white varieties took off. Chester Osborn
used that moment to buy up these parcels,
adding them to his family's estate. They now
produce grenache that cascades with fruit
WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/schild+estate+edgar+rsrv+single+grenache+barossa+valley+south+australia/2017

Wine & Spirits - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2021