Grenache is having a moment. That producers are increasingly embracing the variety is evident in the growing number of single-variety grenache submissions to the Halliday Wine Companion. A grenache even took out Wine of the Year.
But the story of Australian grenache isn’t so linear. Despite early success – originally imported by James Busby in 1832, it was once the most widely planted red variety in the country, and used in fortifieds and blends – it fell out of fashion around the 1970s and 1980s.
Over the past 10 to15 years, we’ve begun to see a resurgence of grenache as a varietal wine. This has been led predominantly by producers in McLaren Vale, such as SC Pannell and Thistledown, who recognised the value of Australia’s beautiful old vines, and used them to make lighter, more elegant and more interesting styles of grenache than the rich, high-alcohol iterations that were once commonplace.
September 19 is International Grenache Day. To celebrate, we’ve pulled together a list of 10 highly rated expressions from across the country. Find their tasting notes and scores below, as well as links to buy direct.
-
Highly rated grenache wines
-
Bulman Wines
Glen’s Vineyard Dry Red Grenache 2024
Eden ValleyFrom the Stonegarden vineyard, first planted in 1857 (this from original vines, reworked over time). The '24 vintage was Glen Monaghan’s last, having since sold the site to Rockford. The second release, and this bottling is already a high watermark for lithe, refined and detailed modern Barossa grenache. A gust of red florals, red and sour black cherry, bitter red aperitivo, ground warm spices, a rusty note, alpine-like herbal scents, ground fennel, and all so poised. There’s space to see the detail, underwritten by a quiet yet insistent current of old vine gravitas and soulful, site-specific resonance carried by intricately etched tannins. Stunning. -
Spinifex
Sol Solice Grenache 2023
BarossaI remember loving this wine last year and blow me down if it isn't on form again this year. It's a blend of grenache from the Rostein, Vinya Vella and the Neldner vineyards, 25% whole bunch. It just ticks all the boxes. It's succulent like a Chinese meal. The fruit is pure and vibrant, all plum, blueberry and cherry, daubed with exotic spice, earth, ginger cake, charcuterie, citrus blossom, fig paste and dried citrus rind. Chalky in tannin with a sapid mineral cadence, it is just so lovely to drink. -
Thistledown Wines
Fool on the Hill Mattschoss Vineyard Grenache 2024
Eden ValleyFermented in concrete pyramid with 20% whole bunches; 11 months in seasoned French oak. This from a new site to the brand, the Trial Hill vineyard, now owned and managed by Joel Mattschoss. This speaks the Thistledown dialect, expressly pure fruited yet intrinsically savoury, floral, elegant yet deep, finely but properly structured. There’s the usual cohort of red fruits, but it’s a little more earthy and spicy than its Vale peers. Day two is when this truly shines, becoming more fragrant with musk and souk spices. This is a wine to watch. -
Turkey Flat
Grenache 2022
Barossa ValleySuch a consistently delicious grenache – a regional benchmark, if you will. From 100+-year-old vines, lightly coloured and with a bright, filigreed aromatic profile, the Turkey Flat grenache is always a beautiful wine to drink and a regular on my 'must buy' list. The '22 release doesn't disappoint with its detail and sense of space on the palate, flush with airy red fruits, ginger spice, floral facets, powdery tannins and light meaty tones as the wine fans out on the exit. It's beautiful drinking. -
Aravina Estate
Limited Release Grenache 2024
Margaret RiverThis is fast becoming one of my favourite reds off Margaret River's ’24 vintage. It was a warmer season, but this grenache has its own groove and is well modulated. Dark fruit, raspberries and red cherries, blackcurrant pastilles and red jelly babies – but of course it's not a sweet wine. This is delightfully savoury with fine sandpaper tannins and juicy acidity and ends rather lip-smackingly good. -
Dream Bird
Basket Case Grenache 2023
GeographeFruit off a site in Donnybrook, fermented wild with 50% whole bunches and 50% whole berries, pressed off skins after three weeks and aged in used French puncheons for 15 months. It turns out a gorgeous, vibrant red hue; full of juicy raspberries, blood orange and rind, all laced with warm spices and red lollies. Lots of savoury inputs, too, with warm earth, twigs and cinnamon quills in the background. Medium bodied, lifted with a succulence thanks to the tangy acidity matched by plentiful textural/sandy tannins. Such a good wine and hard to resist drinking it now but this will develop more complexity in time. -
Juxtaposed
Shadow Creek Vineyard Grenache 2023
McLaren ValeFrom vines planted in 1923 in McLaren Flat. It’s a sandy site, not unlike in Blewitt Springs, says Dr Wes Pearson, but it’s only about 60m above sea level. His bottling from the Smart vineyard (Clarendon) is finer and nervier, while this has a little more flex and generosity, darker of fruit, and with craggier, rocky tannins. But it’s still poised and fragrant, both a product of those sandy soils and a cool year. Red and black cherries, preserved plum, Baharat spicing and dusky floral notes. This is present now, but it has so much more to reveal. It’s an exciting addition to the Juxtaposed portfolio. -
Kilikanoon Wines
Prodigal Grenache 2023
Clare ValleyPours with a pretty, pale garnet colour. Attractive, lighter-weight red cherry characters amongst garam masala spice characters, a touch of sandalwood and turned earth, lifted, light minty notes – all up very attractive, pure feeling and fine boned. The palate feels fresh, tannins build gently with some flinty, mineral elements in the mix. Elegant and fine-boned grenache with plenty going on. -
Tellurian
Amphora Grenache 2024
HeathcoteShiraz has serious competition in Heathcote with the rise of quality grenache such as this. A wine of precision and poise. Lustrous magenta. A rousing aroma in lifted violet-based florals, juicy black cherries and plums, juniper, clove, aniseed. Translates beautifully, easily, on to the palate, where undoubtedly the role of amphora contributes a seamless connection and balance. Tannins are lithe and silky. There is an effortless quality to this wine, quietly powerful, too. -
Tillie J
Grenache 2024
Langhorne CreekSourced from the Watkins vineyard in Langhorne Creek. Whole-bunch fermented and matured in neutral oak. A light, bright crimson red. You'd be hard pressed picking this as a Langhorne Creek wine in a lineup given its light, bright, perfumed aromas and medium-bodied, gently mouth-filling and sappy palate. An excellent follow up to the successful project 5255 wine from '22.
Join Halliday Wine Club to drink the very best of Australian wine
Are you an explorer, enthusiast or collector? No matter the Halliday Wine Club plan you choose, each month we'll deliver two bottles of 95+ point wines direct to your door. From $89 per month. You can skip, pause or cancel anytime. Join now.
Latest Articles
-
Behind the label
Behind-the-label-Brokenwood
1 day ago -
Spirits
Our guide to the best whisky in Australia
1 day ago -
From the tasting team
10 years of Tom Cullity: Jane Faulkner reflects on an icon
2 days ago -
Meet the winemaker
Get to know the winemakers behind these award-winning wineries
16 Sep 2025
