Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Made from bush vines planted in 1949 with subtle cloves and black pepper. Some asphalt. Medium-bodied with fine tannins. Chalky texture with black fruits and crushed stone minerality to it. Pure grenache. Spicy. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Hillside Vineyard Grenache yielded around half of its normal tonnage in 2020. The flowering in the spring of 2019 was affected by heavy winds that shattered bunches across the region. The season that followed was warm and dry, and I have found the best wines from this vintage are very good indeed. Here, the 2020 Hillside Vineyard Grenache is aromatically fresh and red fruited, with none of the pomegranate molasses/sumac notes present in the earlier vintages. The tannins have an ashy, graphite note also not previously observed, and these linger long through the finish. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
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.
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.