From bush vines planted in 1946 high on our Estate’s deep sandy soils, our Old Vine Grenache is complex, elegant and enticing.
Detail
TASTING NOTE
"One of the more perfumed vintages, the Old Vine Grenache has pretty floral aromas and briary bright red fruits. The palate shows lots of bright cherry fruit, and the vineyard's typical fine line of sandy mineral tannins and acidity." - Peter Fraser, Winemaker
WINE COMPOSITION: 100% Grenache
REGION: Estate grown in Kangarilla, McLaren Vale
WINEMAKING: Cold soaked 5-6 days, wild yeast fermented, 9 months maturation in 100% older French oak on lees, no fining just filtration.
Vineyard and Winemaking
VINEYARD INFORMATION
Our Grenache bush vines were planted in 1946. The vase-shaped, dry-farmed old strugglers stand without wires or system of support. This ancient bush vine method spreads the fruit to be more evenly and allows greater natural airflow. Set low to the ground on the weathered remnants of a long-gone mountain range, the sandy site reflects heat during the day and releases it at night, like the fabled stones of Chateauneuf du Pape, and with the cool evening air that flows down from nearby Mount Lofty enhances physiological ripening to produce intense, bright flavours.
REGION: Kangarilla, McLaren Vale
VINE AGE: 70 years
ELEVATION: 200-211m above sea level
SOIL TYPE: Weathered sands
VITICULTURALIST: Michael Lane
WINEMAKING INFORMATION
Grenache was hand-picked and received via a belt elevator (rather than the normal screw hopper which macerates the skins), de-stemmed and then sorted via two sorting tables, resulting in tubs of perfectly whole berries. These tubs are then tipped into our open fermenters (to avoid macerating the skins), where the berries are cold-soaked for 5-6 days and undergo wild fermentation. A careful regime of plunging and drain and returns ensued before the wine was sent to older French barriques after about 12-14 days. The wine in barrel was kept on the yeast lees for approximately 9 months prior to blending. The wine received no fining, just filtration.
ALCOHOL: 14.5%
TA: 5.7 g/L pH: 3.4
WINEMAKER: Peter Fraser
Vintage Report
The 2016 growing season was marked by a very dry spring it intially seemed as if we were headed for a very early and compressed season. Summer came along, bringing with it some mild rains which slowed down the sugar ripening of the vines. This helped to give brightness and fleshiness to the wines of this vintage.
