Arila Gardens Sand Garden Grenache 2021
- 96
- $85
- Drink by: 2022-2032
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Great Aussie Grenache, especially from old vines, gets ever more thrilling, and a brilliant year like 2021 only enhances that. This is a single vineyard wine from estate vines planted in 1900. Cold soaking for 48 hours, the process sees a small quantity of whole bunches at the base of the small open top fermenter with the remainder whole berries. Fermentation, with gentle pumpovers and hand plunging, takes 12 days. Maturation is for 14 months in seasoned French oak hogsheads with occasional stirring “to build and soften texture”.
This is near black with a maroon rim. Notes of florals, mulberries, raspberries, cassis, tobacco box notes and smoked meats. This is a cracking Grenache, focused and balanced, with a seamless and supple texture showing silky tannins and great length. This will age for a decade or more and the score could/should rise in that period.
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.
