The Auswine Forum

I just read TORB's dissertation on grenache on his website, and I must say that it was very timely. Having just received my Torbreck newsletter and seen how they have an addition to their portfolio - a straight grenache called
Le Amis - I was pondering Ric's assertion that straight grenache is going to be great at best, never mindblowing. Torbreck want the punters to cough up $187 a bottle for Le Amis. That's a heck of a lot of money for a wine that's never going to be mindblowing. That and the fact that it fails my "Basket Press Test" (how many bottles of Rockford BP could I get for that - in this case 4) makes me wonder who is going to buy this stuff?

-- George Krashos

Interesting topic George.

Grenache must be one of the most maligned grape varieties grown in Australia.

There are many reasons for this; extensive planting, the fact that it is the grape of choice for so many back-yard winemakers of Mediterranean extraction (many of whom make some quite exceptional vino), the fact that it can be heavily cropped and made into hot, simple, confection-dominated wines that fall apart within a couple of years. Put simply, Grenache hasn't managed to develop a quality varietal image in this country, despite many great wines that have been made over many decades.

On the other hand, Grenache is one of the noble varieties of France. Wines such as Chateau Rayas command a respect in the international marketplace that rivals any other Rhone wine and is compared with great Burgundy in its ability to age and develop great complexity. Rayas also commands big prices, though these may have dropped since the death of Jacques Reynaud in 1997.

It seems that in recent years, Australian grenache, largely from the Barossa but also from McLaren Vale is developing a bit of a following in both the domestic and international marketplaces. People are talking about wines from producers such as Rusden, Noon, Kalleske, Melton, Hewitson. Rayas' vines were planted in 1922; many of the South Australian grenache vines pre-date that considerably. However, price per ton is still significantly less than that commanded by old-vine shiraz so I can't quite rationalise the Torbreck price you quote. Pedigree comes into it: how long has Torbreck been around? I'm sure some folks will still buy the wine, and, some will buy it because of its price.

I would love to read a TN if any one out there is going to part with their hard earned...