I love a good international day of something, especially when it’s wine-related. So you can imagine my joy and jubilation upon hearing that The 7th Annual International Grenache Day is occurring on Friday September 16th. A day-long celebration of everything Grenache, one of the most widely planted yet least-known red grapes in the world. Grenache (or garnacha as it’s known in Spain) has it’s spiritual home in France’s Southern Rhone region, where it’s best known as the key grape in blends of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. But these days it’s often grown as a solo star in California, in Spain’s Priorat region and now it’s a rising star in the sunbaked soils of South Australia.
I met fellow grenachista, Bryn Richards, recently. He’s the winemaker at Chapel Hill in McLaren Vale, a huge Grenache fan, and a man eager to help more kiwis get their Grenache-on. Grenache needs a really long, dry, hot growing season, like McLaren Vale’s because it’s one of the first varieties to bud burst and one of the last to be harvested. “And it’s tricky to grow well because it tends to have big berries which are thin-skinned, low in colour and are tightly packed on the bunch. This makes them really susceptible to moisture where they can split and rot and stuff” says Bryn.
To make great grenache, Richards says you also really need to have it growing on older vines. “They produce smaller, more intensely flavoured berries. Then you’ve got to be really gentle with it in the winery. Grenache is a silky, sensual wine, so we have treat it carefully. You want to extract as much colour and flavour as possible, without overdoing it or hardening the wine. It’s a variety with a low pH and low titrateable acidity, which means it’s going to be softly fruited. It’s also a really complex variety with red fruits, florals, spice, sensual perfume and silky, fine, sandy tannins, cocoa powder characters and rose petals. It’s the elegance of the variety I love”.
Chapel Hill ‘The Parson’ Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2015 $19.99 ★★★½
This is a 64:30:6 blend boasting violets, pepper, dried bouquet-garni herbs, blackcurrant, soft spices and a red-fruited core. The tannins are deliciously dusty and this is a superb style of red for anyone wanting a stepping stone from pinot noir to something stronger.
www.glengarrywines.co.nz
Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Bush Vine Grenache 2014 $30 ★★★★½
From the very first sniff, I fell in love with the intense florals, sweet pomegranate and hints of spicy, medicinal cough drop characters. In the mouth there’s a burst of plush, zesty berry, rosehip and cherry flavours alongside fine, sandy tannins. There’s also a lovely whiff of pot pourri on the finish.
Sorry about the tease, but this wine won’t be available in New Zealand for a couple of weeks. Email clark@hancocks.co.nz to register your interest.
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Every wanted to surround yourself with Italian stallions? Here’s your wishes granted…
Fontanafredda Barolo 2011 $69 ★★★★½
100% nebbiolo grapes have been used to create a seriously earthy, lush, leathery red wine with sweet, tobacco and cedar notes on the nose and palate. Cherry, white pepper and dried herb characters surround grippy elastic tannins and leave a warming, slippery finish.
Zabu Il Passo Nerello Mascalese Nero d’Avola 2014 $32 ★★★★★
I absolutely LOVE this wine! With intense blackcurrant, cherry and sweet, concentrated plum flavours, it’s a total Sicilan fruit fest. Yet these fresh, juicy berry layers are cloaked in dark chocolate, bouquet-garni herbs, cedar and seasoned leather, juniper and hints of espresso. Velvety, plush and practically unputdownable.
Parusso Ornati Barbera D’Alba 2014 Piedmont Italy $31 ★★★★
Bright, ruby-coloured and packed with earthy spices, bright, cheery fruit and layers of soft, smoky, woolly dried strawberry notes. Grown in the Ornati area of Monteforte d’alba, it’s a deliciously approachable barbera that’s really hitting its straps now, oozing red fruit and soft, liquorice characters and lovely dried herbs on the finish.
www.pointwines.co.nz
