A Grenache selection that hits like an epiphany

So much of the joy of wine can come from understanding the influences that give every bottle its character – the nuances of soil and climate, and how they create the different aromas and tastes coming from the same varietal grown in different parts of Australia and the world.

But it can be fascinating too to understand the influences that shape the winemaker – what drives the person whose vision and skill deliver a wine that makes your tastebuds sing.

Talk with Clare Valley winemaker Peter Warr and he’ll explain how the army mess halls his father ate in and how his family’s dinner table as a child were part of a lifelong journey that has led to the elegant wines he now produces as the head winemaker of Kilikanoon.

Sitting proudly among them is the 2019 Kilikanoon Baudinet Blend Clare Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro – a majestic and multi-award-winning Rhone-style blend that is part of this week’s special offer case from The Australian Wine Club.

Sitting alongside a trio of excellent grenaches, one of which normally retails for $70 a bottle, Warr’s 2019 GSM is a perfect counterpoint to compare how grenache can sing solo or as an ensemble with equal panache.

The value in this quartet is as mouth-watering as the wines themselves – working out to an average price per bottle of $25.99, a discount of almost 45 per cent.

You can hear Warr’s fondness for the GSM as he talks about this wine and his career in winemaking – and his love of the Clare, a place whose sense of community clearly influences his outlook on life.

“The Clare Valley is ideal for me because it still gives a sense of country and place,” Warr says.

“The thing I love is that I leave my winery and the next field is a sheep farm, then a cattle farm. It’s the community that builds because you go to the pub for a Friday afternoon drink and you’ll sit down next to a cattle farmer or the guy that runs the piggery down the street. You can talk to these people and it’s a real nice sense of place, which I think inspires you.”

That pleasure in shared purpose makes even more sense when Warr looks back to his youth in Queensland, where his parents would enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.

“From a young age, you were given a little port glass and whatever Mum and Dad were having, you got a little splash of that to have with your evening meal,” he says.

“My dad always enjoyed looking for something interesting. Probably not the most discerning palate in the world but as a career soldier he travelled a lot, and with the military messes they would have interesting wines that excited him. I suppose that was something which planted the seed before I even realised it.”

That seed has grown into a lifetime of creating and exploring wines that – like the 2019 GSM – become inspiration in themselves.

“I refer to them as epiphany wines, and I’m sure you might have experienced this too where you sit down and it’s just a diamond-in-the-rough sort of bottle,” he says.

“You just go, ‘holy moly’ as it blows your socks off, and you think, ‘I want to know more about this and how could I make this?’.

“No job is perfect and we all have good days and bad days, but every now and then you open one of these epiphany bottles and as a winemaker, it just reinvigorates you to think, ‘I want to make better and better wine every year’.”

Kilikanoon Baudinet Blend Clare Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2019

From the beginning, the complexity of the nose signifies the serious pedigree at play here – a sumptuous mix of plum, spice and vanilla that evolves to offer hints of leather, black treacle and pepper. The palate envelops your tongue in an embrace of more plum, of chocolate and vanilla, and of rich tannins that keep the finish unfolding with perfect control. 95 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14.5% alc, RRP $55 a bottle.

SPECIALS $49.99 a bottle in any dozen, $25.99 a bottle in the grenache dozen.

Willunga 100 The Tithing McLaren Vale Grenache 2018

Decant this ahead of dinner and match it with richer meats such as roast duck or lamb to let the intensity of its aromas and flavours find the perfect canvas. Its savoury nose is herb-rich and studded with dark plum, fruit-and-nut chocolate and orange peel, seguing into a palate with savoury heft and a crunchy acidity. There’s more orange peel in the mouth, cherry too, and a hint of marzipan. 96 points, Wine Orbit; 14% alc, RRP $70 a bottle.

SPECIALS $53.99 a bottle in any dozen, $25.99 a bottle in our grenache dozen.

Purple Hands Old Vine Barossa Valley Grenache 2022

There’s a theme in this more-ish number of spice and fruit, from the licorice and gingerbread, plum and cranberry on the nose, through to a juicy, vibrant palate of sour cherry and plum with more spice. The bittersweet notes of cumquat add to the freshness and allow a surprisingly good length to unfold. 94 points, Halliday Wine Companion. 14% alc, RRP $35 a bottle.

SPECIALS $27.99 in any dozen, $25.99 a bottle in our grenache dozen.

Hither & Yon Sand Road McLaren Vale Grenache 2022

Another to benefit from time out of the bottle, whether decanted or just allowed to breathe in the glass. The nose is subtle to begin with but opens up to offer dark plum and black cherry with herbs, spice and black pepper. Likewise, the palate rewards patience with the juicy sweetness of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry, well defined by finely judged tannins. 14% alc, RRP $29 a bottle.

SPECIALS $25.99 in any dozen, $25.99 a bottle in our Grenache dozen.

GRENACHE DOZEN: Three bottles of each wine above for $25.99 a bottle. SAVE $255.

Order by simply clicking the links to our online store or telephone 1300 765 359 Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm AEST. Deals are available only while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine, LIQP770016550. Stockhead is partnering with The Australian Wine Club on this offer.