the grape continues to perform well. However, with some of the focus off Shiraz, especially with younger drinkers, there is a void to be filled. And that’s where other red grape varieties are stepping up, led by Grenache. Back in the 1970s, Grenache was widely employed in Clare Valley fortifieds. By the 1980s, some of the region’s oldest vines were being removed in the South Australian government-funded Vine Pull Scheme, initiated to help counter a grape oversupply. Grenache was long relegated to blends alongside Shiraz and Mataro, but now you can expect to see more stand-alone wines. The 100% Grenache wines tasted this year were an exciting bunch, medium bodied and elegant. One of the grape’s biggest supporters is Kilikanoon, which takes around 35% of all grenache grown in the region and produces four straight Grenache wines, three blends, and the occasional rosé. The maker sources grenache from some of the first bush vine grenache plantings in the region back in 1946 by John Walton, but its first straight varietal release under the Kilikanoon label “Prodigal” was by founder Kevin Mitchell, in 1997. “Kevin saw the potential of the varietal early, with a more elegant and delicate style than his friends’ wines in the Barossa,” Travis Fuller, Kilikanoon managing director, says. One of the Clare Valley’s quiet red wine star attractions has to be Cabernet Malbec. Wendouree and Leasingham, under the late, great Mick Knappstein and his famous Bin 56 wines, laid the groundwork decades ago, and today a younger generation continues to carry the torch. Cabernet Malbec showcases the strength of the region’s quality Cabernet with the beauty of its Malbec. “We want the unmistakable dominance of Cabernet Sauvignon to come across in the most gentle way with varietal highlights of crushed herbs and earthy undercurrents of the Australian bush,” explains Knappstein senior winemaker Michael Kane. And Leasingham Bin 56 lives on at Knappstein as the original vines are now the fruit source for its own Cab Malbec blend. “We are proud to be the custodians of these historical old vineyards,” says Kane, “and will continue to produce this wine in a style that we think pays tribute to the legendary Clare Valley icon.” Part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, the Clare Valley basically runs south- north, and the major towns of the Valley – Leasingham, Watervale, Penwortham, Sevenhill and Clare – lie along the Main North Road. Outside of this area, to the west lies the Skillogalee Valley where altitudes can rise to 450–500 metres. Soils are quite variable, from red and yellow podzolic through to red-brown earths with subsoils of limestone and slatey shaley rock.
South Australia Wine Guide 2026 | Clare Valley
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