Adventures in Wine > Grenache
Grenache
Grenache (or Garnacha in Spain) is another much underrated red grape variety. However, in the right place and in the right hands, Grenache can produce some stunning single varietal wines. Equally though in places like the Rhone Valley, it can be a mainstay component in blends like Chateauneuf du Pape.
Charles Cimicky
Winery: Charles Cimicky
Region: Australia
Sub-region: Barossa Valley
Shiraz Trumps
Shiraz Autograph
Grenache/Shiraz Trumps
Shiraz Reserve
Czech immigrant Karl Cimicky founded Karlsburg Winery in 1973. In the early 90’s Karl’s son Charles began to take a keen interest in winemaking and the ‘good’ wines started turning into awesome wines. In addition to top of the line fermenters and barrels, Cimicky also has an estate bottling line, something of a rarity in Australia, allowing him to personally control all facets of production. Charles Cimicky produces rich, voluptuous, generous wines with superb balance. Apart from minor drip irrigation in January and February, the vines are dry grown, cover-cropped and organically fertilized. Now in his late forties Charles Cimicky is one of the most quality-driven, meticulous winemakers in South Australia.
Categories: Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz
Chateau Routas
Winery: Chateau Routas
Region: Southern France
Sub-region: Provence
Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah ‘Agrippa’
Grenache/CS/Syrah ‘Infernet’
Syrah ‘Cyrano’
Viognier ‘Coquelicot’
Rosé ‘Rouvière’
Chardonnay/Viognier ‘Wild Boar’
Chateau Routas is located in the heart of Provence, between the French Riviera on the Mediterranean coast and teh foothills of the Alps. It is surrounded by tiny medieval villages that cling to steep cliffs and overlooks miles of spectacular hillsides, woods and rivers.
Categories: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz, Viognier
De Lisio
Winery: De Lisio
Region: Australia
Sub-region: McLaren Vale
Grenache
Quarterback
Shiraz ‘Krystina’
Shiraz, Grenache ‘The Catalyst’
During a visit to Australia in June of 2004 Benjamin Hammerschlag was assessing the portfolio of another young winemaker in McLaren Vale. During the tasting, the parcels that stood out time and again had come from Tony De Lisio’s vineyards. The impression stuck and yielded an extensive tasting of De Lisio’s wines. Consistently impressed, Hammerschlag approached De Lisio and discovered an Italian immigrant with 30 years of experience in McLaren Vale. De Lisio’s talents lie in the vineyard and his connection to other immigrants in the region give him access to some of the best fruit in the district which happen to meet the classic Epicurean Wines criteria; phenomenal raw materials transformed into wines that are jam-packed with intensity.
Categories: Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz
Domaine Le Couroulu
Winery: Domaine Le Couroulu
Region: Rhone
Sub-region: Vacqueyras
Vacqueyras
55% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault
“A big Rhône however very round on the pallet with notes of cherry & spices.”
Parker rates the estate as an excellent producer, citing it among his *Best European Wine Values*. The estate is named for the Curlew bird, which is known in Provencal dialect as Couroulu.
An excellent match for grilled ribs, roasts and stews of lamb, beef and game.
Categories: Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah-Shiraz
Glaetzer
Winery: Glaetzer
Region: Australia
Sub-region: Barossa Valley
Shiraz/Cab Sauv Anaperenna
Shiraz, Grenache ‘Wallace’
Shiraz Bishop
Shiraz/Cab Godolphin
The relationship with the Glaetzer winery had been developing since the release of the 2001 Amon Ra Shiraz. With the 2004 vintage, Ben Glaetzer took over winemaking at Glaetzer and brought his own flagship wines, Amon Ra and Godolphin, into the fold. Young Glaetzer has implemented many changes at the winery, particularly with regard to harvesting upon physiological ripeness vs. analysis, longer skin contact and the use of the highest possible quality oak barrels. The Glaetzer philosophy focuses simply on the production of small-volume, super premium wines. The company holds a firm belief that the wines are made in the vineyard – a combination of the French notion of terroir combined with Australian vineyard site knowledge. The wines are produced from vines grown in well-drained sandy clay loam over a solid limestone pan. This particular soil, widely recognized as the best for dry grown Shiraz, is limited to the Ebenezer region in the northwestern part of the Barossa Valley. Yields are exceptionally low, with 1 to 1 1/2 tons per acre of Shiraz from some of the 80-year old vines being common. Glaetzer has exceptional fruit, and thus opts for a minimalist approach.
Categories: Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz
Langmeil
Winery: Langmeil
Region: Australia
Sub-region: Barossa Valley
Shiraz Valley Floor
Three Gardens – Barossa Valley (Shiraz, Grenache & Mourvedre)
The Langmeil estate was originally founded in 1844. The first Shiraz vines, planted at that time, still produce premium Shiraz today, making Langmeil the site of the oldest producing vineyard in the Barossa Valley . Today, plantings at Langmeil total 14.5 hectares, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Langmeil Winery’s philosophy is to produce 100% Barossa premium quality wine made from varieties that excel here in one of the oldest wine producing regions in Australia.
Categories: Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah-Shiraz
Laurent Miquel
Winery: Laurent Miquel
Region: Southern France
Sub-region: Languedoc
Chardonnay-Viognier
Syrah Nord Sud
Syrah-Grenache
Viognier Nord Sud
Laurent Miquel, a talented young winemaker, hand selects the best grapes from his family’s estate near Beziers, in the South of France. The Chateau, Caza Viel, is in the St. Chinian appellation. The estate has been in the Miquel family since the French Revolution in 1789, when it was purchased from the local monks at Fontcaude. With over 135 hectares of mature, naturally low-yielding vines, this estate is among the most prominent independent producers in the Languedoc. Laurent crafts these premium wines as a testament to the distinct terroir of the site and to reveal wine with exceptional personality and character.
Categories: Chardonnay, Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz, Viognier
Stephen Pannell
Winery: Stephen Pannell
Region: Australia
Sub-region: McLaren Vale
Shiraz
Shiraz / Grenache
2004 yielded the discovery of a serious new talent in McLaren Vale. Like Glaetzer, Pannell grew up in the wine industry. In 1967, his family founded Mosswood, the second winery and vineyard to emerge in the Margaret River district. Pannell’s Australian credentials include Seppelts Great Western, Wirra Wirra, Hardy’s Tintarra and BRL Hardy Wine Company where he was the Chief Red Winemaker from 1999 to 2003. Pannell’s ambition has also taken him abroad where he has gained experience in Burgundy at Domaine Comte Lafon and Domaine del la Pousse d’or, Bordeaux at Chateau Mouton, Southern France at Jacques Lurton and Italy at GD Vajra Barolo. Pannell seeks to apply European methods to the tremendous raw materials available in Australia without sacrificing flavor and ripe tannins. The minimal use of new oak also highlights the vineyard and regional characteristics of McLaren Vale Shiraz.
Categories: Grenache, Syrah-Shiraz