2024 McLaren Vale Grenache, Willunga 100

• Style: Bright, juicy, fine-grained
• Taste: Red cherry, liquorice, cardamom spice, woody herbs
• Food: BBQ & grilled meats; roasts; beef; duck; cheese
• Occasion: Weeknight; Sunday lunch
• Serve: 14.5% ABV; chill 15–17°C

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Bright and alive where warmth might otherwise dominate, this McLaren Vale Grenache opens with red cherry and liquorice-edged aromatics, backed by cardamom spice and woody herb undertones. The palate has generosity without weight, driven by a fine-grained tannic spine and sharp acidity (pH 3.28) that keeps the wine singing rather than settling into jammy comfort. At 14.5% ABV, it drinks with both immediate pleasure and textural grip.

The Winery — Willunga 100

Two decades of mastery in old-vine Grenache & Garnacha in the Blewitt Springs sub-region. This 2024 comes from three parcels within their Blind Spot vineyard, vines averaging 50 years old planted in deep Maslin sand over ironstone. Hand harvesting and separate fermentation of each parcel (roughly 13% whole bunch) ensures precision. Seventy per cent aged in used French oak, the rest stainless steel, then ten months on fine lees—restrained technique lets the sandy soils and site variation speak. The 2024 season delivered dry spring conditions, mid-November rain that built the crop, and dry harvest weather free from disease.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

Roasted duck, grilled lamb, barbecued beef, and aged cheese are natural companions. This wine demonstrates how thoughtfully sourced Grenache can transcend regional expectation and challenge the assumption that southern hemisphere reds must always be fruit-forward—it ranks among the finest examples we've found in Australia. Vegetarian and vegan-friendly. Perfect for a weeknight meal or Sunday lunch gathering, it rewards both the first sip and the second glass. The Wine Front awarded it 92 points.