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Dan Traucki from Wine Assistant recently attended one of our Grenache appreciation evenings. Here’s what he had to say:

“I have written before about the amazing work that McLaren Vale growers are doing to identify and categorise the impact that their tumultuous geology has upon the flavours of their Shiraz (see Winestate Magazine, “Super Serious about Shiraz”, Sep-Oct 2017 Edition). Some of the “Valers” have also formed the “Fiano Fellowship” (see WBM, “The Fiano Fellowship”, Jan- Feb 2019 edition), to evaluate the region’s Fiano.

Now it looks like Grenache may be going to get a guernsey at the same caper, if the recent tasting conducted by McLaren Vale winery, Willunga 100, is any indication. 

On a cold July evening Willunga 100 gathered a group of “Grenache Groupies” at the National Wine Centre for a, “Tasting & Tapas”, event in which the excellent Grenache from Willunga 100 were compared and contrasted to Grenache from around the world. Each flight was matched to an elegant, up-market tapas dish.

Five of the thirteen wines presented on the night were from Willunga 100 including the WILLUNGA 100 “THE TITHING” GRENACHE 2009 out of their museum. This wine was redolent with complex bottle maturation aromas, had a super smooth and silky palate with lashings of flavour and still after ten years had a hint of tightness on the finish. It was a brilliant food wine as well as a darn good drink on its own. The 2016 being the current vintage of “THE TITHING”, had the same inherent characteristics as its elder sibling but was younger, brighter and tighter. By comparing the two, one could see the longevity that awaits the current release as it elegantly matures over time.

The other Australian Grenache shown were the:

• 2018 YALUMBA BAROSSA BUSH VINE GRENACHE: A lighter, brighter “New Style” Grenache designed to appeal to younger wine drinkers.

• 2017 WILLUNGA “THE HUNDRED” CLARENDON GRENACHE: This was a big, rich, flavoursome wine with an attractive bouquet of spice and herbs, and delightful tight flavours that will evolve sensationally over time. The grapes for this wine come from 100-year-old Grenache vines.

• 2017 WILLUNGA “THE HUNDRED” BLEWITT SPRINGS GRENACHE: Showing its site-specific characters, it is slightly softer and gentler than its Clarendon kin, but more elegant and svelte.

• 2017 YANGARRA McLAREN VALE GRENACHE: Spicy aromas with a good dollop of dried herbs. A beautifully smooth, rich, round, sophisticated palate with a tight finish.

• 2017 HEAD WINE BAROSSA GRENACHE: A Deep and densely coloured wine with a hint of sweetness on the front palate and a tight, grippy finish.

• 2016 WILLUNGA 100 “THE HUNDRED” McLAREN VALE GRENACHE: A true “keeper” with a long and distinguished life in front of it.

The international Grenache wines that were shown were:

• 2017 Ventoux Rouge ‘Vox Caritatis’ from Southern Rhone (90% Grenache)

• 2016 Spice Route Swartland – South Africa

• 2016 Gigondas, Domaine des Bosquets (75% Grenache)

• 2016 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Chateau de Vaudieu (81% Grenache)

• 2016 Mas La Mola, ‘Vi d’Altura’ Priorat Spain

• 2015 El Coto Rioja Garnacha Crianza

A great feature that was shown was the “Grenache Language & Descriptors” chart.  Personally, I think that if that was reduced to the “Body, Tannin & Acidity” scales, it could be added to the back labels of Grenache, just as Riesling producers today are adding the “Riesling Dryness Scale” to their wine back labels. This would make it easier for consumers to choose the right Grenache for them out of the “Traditional” style (bigger, richer wines) and the emerging “New Style” which are lighter not only in alcohol, but more importantly in flavour and character.  Food for thought!  

This delightful event showed that Willunga 100 have well and truly mastered the fine art of producing excellent Grenache. They have mastered the nuances of their different sites, as their wines were excellent.

It also demonstrated that great Aussie Grenache is “World-Class” as well as re-enforcing the fact that the variety is able to consistently produce great wines around the world, whether it is called GARNACHA or GRENACHE. Cheers!”

To read more from Dan Traucki visit http://www.wineassist.com.au/

Boutique Wines Asia (BWA) is broadening their portfolio by forging a partnership with top McLaren Vale producer and Grenache-enthusiast Willunga 100.

The addition will strengthen BWA’s New World offering, which includes a handful of other carefully selected brands such as Carmen from Chile and Doña Paula from Argentina, alongside their very strong French, Spanish and Italian selections.

“We are very excited about the addition of Willunga 100 to our portfolio,” said Bruno Butragueno Managing Director of BWA. “We’ve been looking at high quality Australian wineries for a while and are thrilled to announce that Willunga 100 will join our portfolio. We plan to promote into Mainland China the modern McLaren Vale wines and premium cultural legacy of the winery. This new experience focused on high-quality Grenache represents a fantastic opportunity in this tantalising market.” 

Willunga 100 is the brain child of founders David Gleave and John Ratcliffe, industry veterans and Australian wine devotees, passionate about the potential for outstanding wines from McLaren Vale. Their aim with Willunga 100 is to make modern expressions from this exceptionally diverse region with a focus on premium Grenache, the star grape of McLaren Vale.

Situated about 45 minute drive south of Adelaide in South Australia, McLaren Vale’s Mediterranean climate, with warm sunny days and cooling breezes from the nearby Gulf of St. Vincent, makes it perfect for grape growing. The 500 million year old soils are abundant and diverse giving a huge amount of depth and complexity to the wines.

Winemakers Mike Farmilo and Tim James have worked a combined sixty years in McLaren Vale and have established long and fruitful partnerships with local growers particularly in the superior sub-regions of Willunga, Clarendon and Blewitt Springs where fruit for the top wines is sourced.

“It is with great excitement and enthusiasm that we add China to our list of export markets,” said Willunga 100 Co-founder David Gleave. “As we embark on this new chapter for Willunga 100 I have no doubt that with BWA’s commitment to delivering top quality wine within China, we will finally be able to showcase the best that McLaren Vale can offer through our passion for Grenache.”

Importantly for penetrating the China market, impressive accolades abound for Willunga 100’s Grenache wines, which were all rated 93+ points by Australia’s most renowned wine critic James Halliday in his Australian Wine Companion 2018.

“Grenache’s natural sweet spice, fragrant perfume and soft tannin makes these wines the perfect accompaniment to an infinite array of Chinese dishes,” says Nimbility Founding Partner Polly Aylwin-Foster, “a very important factor for positioning these wines within the China on-trade where BWA excel. We are confident that the BWA team, led by Bruno, will deliver fantastic visibility and sommelier-advocacy which will be crucial to building the Willunga 100 brand in China.”

The opening selection that will be landing with BWA in mid-June will include:

• McLaren Vale Shiraz Viognier 2016

• McLaren Vale Grenache 2016

• The Tithing Grenache 2016  

For more information about Willunga 100 in Asia please contact info@nimbilityasia.com

Our 2018 Grenache Rosé received a delightful UK write up by Diana Thompson in her 'Top Picks' for Foodies Magazine.

"Another region renowned for Shiraz, McLaren Vale is starting to spoil us with interesting new varieties as well as some ultra-premium Grenache. Whilst this rosé doesn’t have the price tag of the ultra-premium wines, it’s certainly up there with those that do and well worth trying. Deliciously fresh and packed with ripe raspberries and crushed strawberries.” - Diana Thompson, Foodies Magazine, April 2019.

To try this wine for yourself, click here.

Click here to read the full article.

We are excited to announce that we have welcomed two new staff members to the WILLUNGA 100 team.

Meet Karen, who is based in the heart of the McLaren Vale Wine Region close to the home of WILLUNGA 100. Karen has over 19 years of experience within the Australian Wine Industry and is tasked with keeping our brand moving right from grape through to bottle.

Meet Zoe, she recently joined the team having moved across from the UK 6 years ago where she clocked up 20+ years in the wine industry. Zoe is responsible for making you love the WILLUNGA 100 portfolio of wines as much as we do and will be working closely with all Distribution Channels to spread the love far and wide.

Renowned Winemakers Mike Farmilo and Tim James remain at the forefront of our winemaking team in McLaren Vale and they continue to work their magic both in our vineyards and in the winery. When Mike surfaces from the demands of the forthcoming 2019 Vintage, we will be coaxing him out and about in a series of ‘Meet your Winemaker’ events - Stay tuned!

Vintage 2018 is well under way and producing superb fruit. Mike and Tim have been busy in the vineyards picking a small parcel of Tempranillo and a new Shiraz vineyard in Willunga. This week gets even busier as we pick our Home Block Tempranillo in the warmer beachside district of McLaren Vale, and then move toward the cooler sites of McLaren Flat, Blewitt Springs and Clarendon to pick our Single Vineyard Grenache.

Given the even, moderate, and dry growing season with only a few hot spikes across summer, its shaping up to be an excellent year for Grenache and McLaren Vale as a region. 

We look forward to sharing these wines with you soon! Stay tuned. 

Renowned UK critic and Grenache enthusiast Matthew Jukes has been a long-time fan of the Willunga 100 range. This year marks the second in a row that our Cabernet Shiraz has been included in his 100 Best Australian Wines report.

In addition, he has just included Willunga 100 McLaren Vale Grenache as one of his Top 100 Red Wines for Summer in The Daily Mail Weekend Magazine. He commented:

"One of the juiciest, most enthralling wines of the moment, this has an explosion of pipe smoke, rhubarb and mulberry pie scents on the nose (I’m not joking!) and a creamy, succulent palate. It could charm even the most hard-to-please wine lovers.”