2024 MMAD Grenache

It was the old bush vine Grenache that first drew Martin Shaw, Adam Wadewitz, and Masters of Wine Michael Hill-Smith and David LeMire to this corner of Blewitt Springs when they bought the vineyard in 2021 – vines planted in 1939, growing in the fine Maslin sand over ironstone that gives Grenache here its perfume without losing its grip. It's mostly destemmed and fermented in a mix of concrete and large-format oak, kept simple so the site can do the talking. 2024 was a kind season for dry-grown Grenache: a cool, wet winter followed by a mild, even ripening run, and the wine shows it, all fresh cherry and floral lift on the nose, with something more layered and red-fruited coming through on a plush, fine-tannined mid-palate. This is McLaren Vale Grenache doing what the region does best right now – light on its feet, precise, structured rather than jammy – made by a team with the pedigree to back it up. If you're already collecting the new wave of Blewitt Springs Grenache, this one earns its spot on the list. 98 points "Holy heavenly aromas batman, this is seduction in a glass... The fruit and shape reminds you of its Grenache but not like anything you have had before... Remarkable wine." - Shanteh Wale (The Wine Pilot) 97+ points "This is in excellent form – duskily floral, mineral, with old-vine depth and balance, silky, plush in the right way through the midpalate... The aroma is showstopping but not showy. In fact, it took me some time to taste the wine, such is the allure; but the palate confirms that this is likely the best release yet." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion) 96 points "Glory be. This is a shockingly beautiful red wine, fragrant and expressive, fruity and savoury, smoky, perfumed, juicy and electrically well sustained. You don’t roll out the red carpet for this wine; it is the red carpet... Blewitt Springs you beauty. Hell yes." - Campbell Mattinson (campbellmattinson.com) 95 points "Distinctive wine. A very good iteration of this wine for me." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)