Pirramimma Ironstone Old Bush Vine Grenache 2019
- 93
- $70
- Drink by: 2022 - 2028
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McLaren Vale grenache is the ‘flavour of the month’ at the moment. Well, it is in my world (and I suspect plenty of others). I have looked at a wide range in recent months and this one can take its place proudly among the best. It offers full-throated McLaren Vale richness but also that intriguing blend of elegance and finesse. From the old POW Bush Vine Block, named after the Italian prisoners of war who planted the vineyard in the 1940s. Tiny yields with half going to new 600-litre French oak puncheons while the other half ends up in older oak, a mix of French and American.
Purples. A hint of cinnamon oak. Soft red fruits, raspberries and cherries. Still young and should drink beautifully over the next six to eight years. It has that sandy tannin profile so typical of grenache and a finish that lingers delightfully.
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.
