Grenache’s ability to truly express a sense of place is a concept that has gained significant traction within McLaren Vale. This is most evident in the cooler, elevated sub-region of Blewitt Springs. Here, the low-yielding bush vines are producing some of the country’s finest grenaches, including Thistledown’s Vagabond Grenache, Yangarra Estate Vineyard’s Old Vine Blewitt Springs Grenache, Alphelion’s Confluence Grenache, and Bondar’s Higher Springs Grenache. Al Varney, of Varney wines, sees ‘more depth and brooding’ in the fruit he sources from Blewitt Springs. In my own tastings across the region, I can see immense freshness and a layered transparency of fruit, together with a serious undercarriage of tannin in the wines from Blewitt Springs. It’s important to note, however, that grenache’s potential to express a sense of place in McLaren Vale is not limited to sandy soil. It also thrives in many other soils, including iron-rich orange clay and ironstone, producing grapes with more tannin, and often expressing a noticeable ‘ferrous’ character in the wine. Managing grenache in the vineyard is not always easy. The variety is prone to shatter; bush vines require back-breaking work to prune, and choosing the picking date is crucial. The variety’s propensity for accumulating sugar means producers have to be extremely vigilant. According to Steve Pannell, of SC Pannell wines, ‘If you think it’s ripe, you’ve missed the window’.
McLaren Vale
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