The mood is shifting in South Australia. In a room full of heavyweights and classics, three upstarts were beacons for fresh, compelling, and thrilling wines all made from the same grape: Grenache.
Thistledown – first Grenache of the day
Upon arrival at Wine Australia and New Zealand Winegrowers’ mammoth union tasting, attendees were asked to choose team Aus or NZ, and given a lanyard branded with their choice. As a proud Kiwi, I chose my side. Entering Lindley Hall I was keen to see how the two countries’ wines stacked up against each other, with only a sliver of bias towards New Zealand. I didn’t imagine I’d be swiftly distracted from thoughts of trans-Tasman rivalry by my first Grenache of the day: Thistledown Wine Company.
Having tasted his ‘Charming Man’ Grenache before, I was versed in Giles Cooke MW’s style and was happy to see the rest of the range and meet the man. Cooke founded Thistledown in 2010 with Fergal Tynan MW over a shared ideal of altering the perception of Australian wine.
Those in the industry know that Australian wine is incredibly diverse and reaches much farther than the Barossa, but I can attest to Giles’ discontent with the public’s tunnel-vision; I’m not too distant from reaching for a Barossa Valley Shiraz whenever I was looking in a bottle-shop, never considering there might be other options out there. I wanted a full-bodied wine and I wanted to feel it, and I think for a lot of consumers it really is that simple.
Cooke works with 13 growers across south Australia, all of whom have old vines planted on their own rootstocks. He strives for energy and precision in his wines, while restraining the overripe, loose characters of yore. Picking early and gentle extraction techniques help him achieve this, and he was the first to mention a ‘lasagna’ technique to me, where whole bunches are layered throughout concrete vessels and left to steep over the fermentation, with only two hand plunges per day. “We’re looking for infusion, not extraction. Tea not coffee.”
The resulting wines are delicate and neat but as expressive as you’d expect from South Australia. The ‘Thorny Devil’ Mclaren Vale Grenache 2023 is full of crunchy, vivid red fruit all hanging off a tense line of acidity. ‘She’s Electric’ Mclaren Vale Grenache 2024 is named after the vineyard where this wine comes from; a plot where half the vineyard’s old vines were set alight after a bird caught fire on an overhanging power line and fell into the vineyard.
Electric is more seductive and pure than the Thorny Devil, with strawberries and cream on the nose and a rosy finish. ‘Where Eagles Dare’ Eden Valley Shiraz comes from a site planted at 550 metres above sea level on an old gold mine, home to the Wedgetail Eagle. A Shiraz for pondering. Damp earth, spice, and winter truffles all sit on a base of blue and black fruit. The tannins are soft, the alcohol well-integrated at 14.5%, but it’s the acidity I keep coming back to with Thistledown. The wines give off a precocious air of complexity and definition while being held in place by acidities that would make Hunter Valley proud.
Alkina Estate – assertive and impressive
A little walk down the room, past hard-hitters and household names, the next wine that caught my attention was Alkina Estate’s ‘Polygon 5’ Barossa Valley Grenache 2022. Of course, at £190 it was bound to reel me in, but with Thistledown still lingering in my mind I was now fixated on a wine six times the price.
Alkina Wine Estate is a supergroup, or “assembled wine-avengers” as Liam from Raeburn Fine Wines put it. Founded in 2016 by Australian winemaker and MD Amelia Nolan, in partnership with Alejandro Bulgheroni (Argentine oil man and owner of more than ten vineyards around the world), who she had met while working for Argento Wine Company in London. Together they work with Alberto Antonini, formerly of Antinori and currently one of the wine world’s leading consultants, and ‘Dr Terroir’ Pedro Parra, who has mapped soils for Domaine Roulot, Biondi Santi and Commando G, to name a few.
Quite a lineup. £190 seems within reason now.
I started with the more affordable (£26) ‘Kin’ Barossa Grenache 2023. The winemaking was similar to Thistledown; layered whole bunches in a concrete vat, Liam again referring to lasagna as the preferred term for this technique. On the nose it was more familiar to me, more obviously Grenache with herbs, tea and spice coming through. The palate is juicy and finishes on grippy tannins. A very solid entry level wine, possibly perfect with lasagna.
I then jumped straight to the Polygon wines, which were presented to me blind. ‘Polygon 5’ Barossa Valley Grenache 2022, from schist and clay soils, has delicate perfume notes springing out from the glass. Ethereal and purple fruited. Expansive on the palate, the tannins are moderate and drying but also relaxed, taking a supporting role to the pretty fruit.
‘Polygon 3’, a site nearby with schist and limestone soils, was completely different. Deep red fruits, spicy wild berries, green tea leaves and earth all well-defined. Again, this was more familiar, more Southern Rhône in style. The fruit wasn’t overripe or overbearing and the grip of grainy, high tannins took me out of South Australia. Assertive and impressive wines, still young from the 2022 vintage but with enormous promise.
Vinya Vella – ‘cheeseburger’ fermentation
My next stop was Dylan Grigg’s Vinya Vella, relatively new to the Clark Foyster portfolio. Grigg is a bona fide viticultural aficionado. He was prepared with a slideshow of his old Barossa Valley bush vines (some of which are over 130 years old), his different soil types and vineyard practices. The enthusiasm Dylan has for the vineyard was undeniable; he is one of those winemakers who spends sunlight hours outside, chasing perfect grapes.
He takes a similar approach to Giles, harvesting earlier than the Barossa norm, using large open top fermenters and 30% whole bunches. I was hoping for another lasagna comment, but Dylan instead referred to his fermentations as ‘cheeseburgers’. I’ll take it.
The wines really spoke for themselves. He was showing his maiden vintage of ‘Old Bush Vine’ Grenache 2022. It has beautiful depth, with strawberry and raspberry fruit and a voluptuous mouthfeel, almost cloying but not quite. The tannins are ripe and velvety, the acidity gentle, rounded and fresh. One that I would offer to an old-school Barossa drinker looking to broaden their horizon with that generous texture, but equally loveable as a new-wave style.
I don’t know if it were the wines themselves or Dylan’s easy going, happy-to-be-there presence that gave me a sense of modesty across his range. At £40.50, it wasn't the cheapest at the tasting, but I found myself thinking I wouldn’t mind paying more.
In conclusion
Gymkhana assistant head sommelier Max Quigley
Even considering warming climates and coinciding alcohol levels (not to mention the recent duty adjustments in the UK), these three winemakers (and many more I undoubtedly missed) are proving that there is a clear path forward for a newer style. Not one of the Grenaches I’ve mentioned were over 14% abv.
While more traditional approaches to winemaking in Australia are still extremely popular (and for good reason, as the crowd around the Penfold’s table illustrated), it was this modern take that stood out to me. The wines of Thistledown, Alkina, and Vinya Vella spoke with a South Australian twang, all the while respectfully nodding to the ethereal Sierra de Gredos and the spicy complexities of the Rhône.
Perhaps it’s the generosity of the mouthfeel reminding me of my Shiraz-fuelled early experiences with wine, but I found the 2022 Vinya Vella to be my favourite of the day, including, dare I say it, the wines I tasted from my own country.
