Winemaker Notes
Lifted red fruit aromatics, a hint of roses, anise and savory spices. The palate is medium bodied and shows an array of vibrant cranberry and raspberry fruit with impressive purity and flavor intensity. The palate is supported by a core of fresh acidity and shaped by seamless, fine tannins.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A nicely fresh but still rather ripe grenache that is showing blue fruits, such as blueberries and brambleberries. Some dark cherries, too. Medium to full body, some tangy acidity and a medium-chewy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Delicate streaks of Mediterranean herbs and dried spices add nuance to the cherry fruit in Duval’s 2016 Annexus Grenache. Aged a year in older hogsheads, the oak impact is minimal. It’s a medium to full-bodied, suave expression of old-vine Barossa Grenache, with a slightly coarse, tannic feel that adds a savory edge to fruit that might otherwise be too confected
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant, offering a tangy, fresh mix of orange zest and gingerbread notes on a sleek frame. Bright cherry and cranberry flavors sing out, accented by spice and black tea details.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.