Growing amazing grenache is one thing, but knowing how to handle it in the winery is equally important. In the 1990s, grenache was often poorly handled through over-extraction, tannin addition, and acidification, and matured in new, small format oak, often producing heavy ‘dead fruit’ wines with little finesse. These days producers seek to express perfume, freshness, and transparency of fruit in grenache, whilst also respecting the tannins the variety possesses. For winemaker Emmanuelle Bekkers, of Bekkers Wine, it’s knowing ‘when to stop’ in the winemaking that has been her biggest lesson, allowing grenache to fully express itself with more delicate handling and less intensive intervention. Some producers, such as Ministry of Clouds and In Praise of Shadows, use a percentage of whole bunches to enhance the perfume and tannin structure of the wine, while others, like Pete Fraser at Yangarra, prefer to use a percentage of whole berries for grenache. Many producers also employ carbonic maceration to varying degrees. Grenache’s propensity for oxidation means most producers are making their wines in a more reductive, anaerobic way to preserve freshness and fruit purity. Managing tannin in grenache is also requiring a rethink. Long thought to have low to modest levels of tannins, it is now apparent that, particularly with old vine fruit in McLaren Vale, grenache possesses a unique and significant ‘gritty’ tannin backbone. Producers like Steve Pannell are particularly keen to enhance the tannin structure of grenache to balance the grape’s inherent fruit sweetness in the region. The question of the ageability of grenache is an important one, as the variety becomes more firmly established in the canon of Australian fine wine. Grenache in McLaren Vale has quite low pH, and this quality, together with the depth of fruit, tannin backbone, and reductive winemaking, bodes well for the longevity of grenache. The story of grenache in McLaren Vale is one of reinvention and rejuvenation. It’s also a story about overcoming prejudice. Over the past few years, it’s required a complete change in mindset by growers and producers to fully understand and realize grenache’s full potential. In that respect, there’s a lesson in grenache for all of us.
32
The Vintage Journal – Regional Focus
Powered by FlippingBook