Deep crimson red. Essence of pure red fruit nose. Pomegranate, spice, fennel bush, liquored and glacéed red cherry. Only medium bodied but round, plump, sweet core of red fruits and profoundly textured mouthfeel. An effortless wine.

The now much sought after Righteous range of wines from Kym Teusner was first established in 2005 with the Grenache and this is the latest incarnation of this foreboding Barossa wine. Sourced from an 80 year old bush-vine vineyard, the Righteous Grenache was gently crushed and fermented in open fermenters with regular pump-overs. Maturation was completed in a mix of French and American oak and has resulted in a modern classic Grenache.

Pale coral in colour with argyle pink hues, there are aromas of fresh quince, raspberry and white chocolate, grapefruit blossom and sea spray. A savoury yet moreish palate, full of Alpine strawberries, preserved lemons and grapefruit pith. Enjoy with chargrilled squid and salsa verde.

This wine is only made when vintage conditions permit, typically in the cooler/wetter years. The fruit is sourced from a single 100-year-old vineyard in Greenock, Barossa Valley from Grenache and Mataro fruit. After crushing the free-run juice is bled off into two large old wooden puncheons and fermented for six weeks. It is then fined with egg whites and stabilized for immediate bottling. Only 100 dozen of this wine is produced.

Marco Cirillo, the guru of Grenache. A true artisan, Marco is the custodian of some of oldest Grenache vines in the world and remarkably he tends to each of the old, gnarly bush vines by hand, some standing 6-feet tall! The resulting Grenache that makes The Vincent has beautiful, fine grained tannin along with fruit that is remarkably vibrant and appealing to the palate.

Kalleske Old Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley The Kalleske family makes their Old Vine Grenache in the Barossa Valley, where they have been farming and growing grapes since the 1800s. Yet this old Barossa family have been cited by Max Allen in 2010 as a model for the future of the Barossa. Estate grown, vinified and matured on the Kalleske Greenock estate, the Old Vine Grenache is made from a single vineyard planted in 1935 as bush vines on the Kalleske farm. The shallow sand and light clay ensure that these dry-grown grapes are intensely flavoured fruit.

Hand-crafted using small parcels of old vine fruit, The Barking Dog Grenache Shiraz Mataro is an exceptional example of three of the Barossa Valleys finest varieties. Natural fruit sweetness drives the palate with flavours of blackberry, plum, tobacco and a touch of spice to round it out. The soft balanced tannins and acid provide the core structure and combine to provide an intense long finish.

A wine who’s reputation proceeds it, 0f particular note is the interesting winemaking on show here – it’s old school, yet cleverly so, with all the components co fermented, everything relying on the juice, rather than new oak to tell the story. I like that blend of old and new – its what the Barossa does best. A mid red colour, this has dried herbs, cherry, a waft of VA and tomato paste on the slightly forward savoury nose. There is even a hint of saddle, though its more winey than bretty. The palate is medium bodied, pleasurably soft and somewhat evolved, with spicy old oak the only influence, the rest derived from integrated, maturing fruit. It feels like a pair of favourite jeans – worn in all the right places and comfortable from the get go, yet without losing its style. Suffice to say its one very drinkable, enjoyable, medium bodied drink and its all the better for it. It probably won’t seduce you with its intensity and some will be looking for more primary fruit freshness (I’d like to see it in a screwcap too because I’m a stelvinista or even a vino-loker: now they are pretty sexy too) but I’d drink a ton more of this than so many heavier Barossan reds. 18.0