Arila Gardens Sand Garden Grenache 2019

The grapes for this wine are sourced from a small parcel of vines which were planted in 1900 in the Moppa sub-region of the Barossa. Just shows what the correct site and old vines can do for grenache. The grapes were cold-soaked for 48 hours at 12°C. There was a small percentage of whole bunches at the base of the fermenters, and fermentation took place over seven days with gentle pumping and hand plunging. The wine was then matured for 14 months in old French oak, still on its yeast lees. The wine was stirred every now and again, with the intention being to build and soften the texture.

The colour was perhaps slightly more purple than expected, but the wine had those beautiful perfumes that one associates with great grenache. There were confectionary notes, florals, jubes and lollies here, but also very much aromatic aniseed and liquorice notes. There are the slightly gritty tannins one expects from grenache and very good length. Hints of mulberries emerged towards the finish. For me, this is a textbook Barossa grenache and one with a great future.

Ken Gargett

Contributor at Winepilot

Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.

Wine writer and critic