d’Arenberg Derelict Vineyard Grenache

d’Arenberg Derelict Vineyard Grenache – Some years ago, chief winemaker Chester Osborn, sought out additional super premium Grenache fruit from McLaren Vale to meet the high demand for d’Arenberg’s Grenache-based wines. Many very old vineyards showed promise but had not been used for grape production for decades. Long bracken ferns and native grasses were taking over and the vines themselves resembled Medusa’s hair – wild, struggling and gnarled. This was the inspiration in the naming of this wine. Taming and rejuvenation of these vineyards has patiently occurred over several years although some vines still look rather hard-done-by and only produce very low yields of exceptional quality.

The grapes are trodden by foot and basket pressed and the wine aged in French barrels to produce a great grenache wine.

The nose, as would be expected in a cooler year, is teeming with red fruits and florals. Raspberry and cherry with a hint rose and violet. The true giveaways to the vintage however, lie in the distinct white pepper and spice notes . The palate follows suit with bright red fruit and spice. This is not a particularly fleshy Grenache but the flavours remain concentrated and are driven along by a wave of vibrant acidity and minerally tannins. Different subtleties of flavour become apparent on the lengthy finish. This all leads to a wine that is pretty and refined but with an underlying sense of muscle.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to five tonne headed down open fermenters. These batches remain separate until final blending. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of old French and American oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, and there is no racking until final blending. The Derelict Vineyard does not undertake fining or filtration prior to bottling.

d’Arenberg Derelict Vineyard Grenache is a great example of Grenache from Maclaren Vale.

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