Let us get one thing absolutely clear, I completely loathe Grenache; it is absolutely disgusting. As far as I am concerned the grapes are goat droppings from the Devil’s own Satanic tribe.
I say this because, very kindly, I have been sent a Grenache to review… Oh dear, this isn’t going to go down well!
It is quite a serious Grenache – from the talented Ian Naudé’s old vine series. The vines are actually not really old, but Ian found this block and was so impressed with the quality of the fruit that he wanted to market the wine in his prestige range. I would be impressed with the quality of fruit from a block of Grenache if the fruit amounted to none at all, but each to their own!
Will Ian be able to pull a rabbit out of the Grenache-sewer? Will Ian have a solution to the Southern Rhône problem (the problem being that most of the Grenache-based wines grown there are bleeding dreadful)?
Personally, I think that even the highly praised Mr Naudé cannot turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, but I said I’d review it; be prepared for a torrent of rude words that would make a London taxi driver blush!
Grenache Old Vine Series 2014, Ian Naudé
As instructed by Greg at Handford Wines, my South African wine dealer, I decanted this a couple of hours before The Editor and I hesitantly tasted it.
Oh dear, the rim of the wine in our glasses had a noticeable orange hue; oxidative wine making – is it going to stink of volatile acidity and little else?
There is some mistake! There is no volatile acidity at all! What is going on here?
Indeed, it’s not oxidative at all! The fruit is fresh and vibrant, think plums and blackberries, even a hint of some kind of flowers (do not ask me what type, I was not that kind of biologist).
OK, there is a hint of Port-y character going on here, the alcohol is a little high. However, with those delicious scents of flowers and a pure earthiness, the slight Port-character is a soft, delicate, very mature Portiness rather than a young, fiery number.
Well bugger me! This smells really nice! There is a nose of delicate flowers and fresh fruit, all very supple, subtle, understated and lovely. The Naudé Grenache old vines 2014 also has a refined, complex earthiness as well. It is lovely! There must be some problem in the space/time continuum.
If I had to criticise the nose, I could say it is a tiny shade hot. Really I don’t mind this in the slightest as it gives a lovely, pure sweetness to the rather winning fresh, ripe fruit. This Naudé Grenache has a really good nose! I am more than a shade surprised!
So the Naudé Grenache is a massive success on the nose. Shall we see how the palate stacks up against the usual faults one finds in Grenache-based wines?
Tannin: Grenache is usually soupy and gloopy because it is over ripe and has no tannin left in the skin. Some people try to correct this by squeezing the fruit so hard the pips squeak. This makes a harsh, bitter, overly dry wine.
Neither of these extremes are clung to in Naudé’s old vine Grenache. It has very present tannins but they give a feeling of being silken and svelte.
Acidity is much the same. It can be ripened out of Grenache so the resultant wine is soupy or heavily extracted, making harsh, acrid wines.
Naudé’s Grenache is fresh and bright. Perfectly balanced and integrated with the svelte tannins to make a properly structured, vivacious and energetic wine.
Fruit in Grenache is almost invariably jammy or stewed. Not in this wine! It’s fresh and really delicious. The plummy, blackberry fruit persist for a long after time after swallowing. There are flavours akin to the floral aromas too.
I’ll just cover a couple of other points before a summary. This has a complex thread of chipped granite minerality mixed with rich loam to it; it is quite delicious in its intricacies. All whilst being very lively and packed with deeply lovely fruit. It is a hint boozy and not 100% squeaky clean, but do not let that bother you, this is a damn enjoyable, damn fine wine.
This has had six years ageing already and is quite the stunner. I would drink it now, but it’ll really keep for five or so years.
So I would like to apologise to Grenache for all the nasty things I have said about it in this article. It can produce wines with bright, fresh fruit and delicious floral tastes and aromas. Wines with confident but silken structures that support the fruity, stoney, earthy characteristics in a complex and really satisfying manner.
There does not have to be a Grenache sewer, only pretty bunnies. There does not have to be a Southern Rhône problem. All it takes is the right fruit in the right hands.
Chapeau, Ian Naudé!
Buy from Handford.
I have the latest vintage of this lovely wine. As you mention it does not quite a few years and I may have to unload some of mine as who knows whether I will still be around when the wine is at its best ! Thanks for note Davy
As I suggested, I feel this wine justifies the existence of Grenache, that’s pretty high praise! I could drink this until I passed out 😂😂 Which of Mr Naudé’s wines is your favourite? Do you ever drink his more affordable wines?
Oh, I should say thank you to Ian for sending this wine: thank you, Mr Naudé! It’s a good job you are so skilled with this varietal that I didn’t have to be rude about it. I still don’t like all those ultra-boozy Chateauneufs, but this was rather delicious!
Greetings, Davy! Far too long since we spoke last, entirely mea culpa. But I digress…
What an interesting note. I suffer the same broad aversion to Grenache noir (not the other ones) and had come to the general conclusion it was a lost cause for me. And a few months ago a went through a similar damascene moment. In my case it was with an Australian wine, Steve Pannell’s Smart Clarendon Grenache. (Smart is the vineyard owner’s name). I could not only drink it, but loved it.
There appear to be other people producing Grenache in the “delicious” idiom from McLaren Vale, but it wasn’t something I had time to do much research on. So I’m doubly interested to hear of it from elsewhere. Some people also speak highly of high-altitude grenaches from Spain. So now I’m wondering if this is part of a small movement?
But the big, S. Rhone style still has its many admirers.
Hope you are both doing well given the semi-lockdown.
Hi Ian, my fault too, of course. We’re a bit worried about people dropping like flies and the general danger of death when going out. Dani doesn’t have a job, so we are really worried about paying the rent in a few weeks time. Other than that we’re fine! 😂😂 I hope you are well and enjoying lovely lockdown libations.
If I’m completely honest, I too have had one or two Grenache based blends that haven’t been dreadful. But it literally is one or two. Neither of them have been a patch on this wonder, though. I’ll go looking for the one you mention.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a wine from McLsren Vale that I’ve really enjoyed. It seems far too hot a region to me and very little attempt has been made to match varietals to turangawaewae. My friend Ricard visited not too long ago. His report from the front line was more amusing than positive.
Inexplicably, the high -booze, fruit bombs are extremely popular. Have you tried Beaucastel recently? It’s a world away from the perfumed, elegant wine I used to love. The label now claims 14.5% rather than the old 13.5%. Sniffing it hurts one’s nose with the level of alcohol and it has turned into fruit bomb. The palate is dropping with over ripe fruit and is really soupy as the tannin level is reduced. It’s disgusting. I don’t understand what pleasure people can get from such filth.
Thanks for the tip and I hope we can catch up soon!
McLaren Vale is an odd one. It’s tended to suffer IMHO from trying to be a junior Barossa. But it’s a geologically very complex area. They only completed geologically mapping it around 7 or 8 years ago I think. It’s a shallow rift valley. The detailed map covers a wall from floor to ceiling almost! Since then there’s been quite a lot of activity trying to take that into account, but it’s early days for results yet.
There has been a project to get major growers to look at existing vineyards on the different formations, and you can buy some of those wines now. I got to taste through a few of those a number of years ago, and I noted the distinction of shiraz wines off the Blanche Point Limestone, which seemed to have a distinctive fragrance and texture common across growers.
But I suspect Italian grapes would be better there. Coriole have made a Fiano for some years that showed promise, but it seems to have improved by leaps and bounds of late. Worth a try now if you see it. I don’t find the Sangioveses to be of much interest yet though.
It’s picking and choosing though. As you say, it’s not really had much attempt historically to match grapes with the land in what is on offer presently. I think it will change – I discovered subsequently that I’m not the only one to notice the Grenache phenomenon.
Lovely place to take a break though – almost empty beaches a few miles away, plenty of good places to eat and drink etc. MV olive oil is excellent.
I avoid Beaucastel these days but did have a lovely one from the eighties a short while back. There are decent mourvedre based wines from elsewhere in southern France at more realistic prices though without the pretensions.
Early 90s were a great time for Beaucastel, I drank them a lot at Oxford. I’ve had a 90 and an 88 recently, both of which were fading beauties, but definitely beauties. It is a wildly different, and actively repulsive, wine these days.
I shall look out for Mclaren Vale wines that sensible people say positive things about.
I recently made a discovery which changed my perceptions of Grenache wines (which, following similar experiences with bruising fruit bombs from the Southern Rhone, were pretty similar to yours).
This discovery was wines made from old Grenache (or garnacha, in this context) vines in the Gredos mountains, from the Mentrida region just outside Madrid. Yes, they still tip the scales at 14-14.5%, but you’d never guess it to smell or taste them. This is in large part because of the altitude – most of the vineyards there are 500+m up so cool down enormously at night. So the wines I’ve tried from Bodegas Jimenez-Landi have been refined, sculpted lovelies (and often better on day 2).
They do some pricey single vineyard jobs (c. £65) but the entry level wines give you a good impression of the style. Well worth a try for the grenachophobe.
Thanks for the tip off, Tom! That’s another wine to add to the ‘must try’ list!