There are two stylistic expressions of Grenache. There is the lighter coloured, lithe, ethereal type. Yangarra Ovitelli would be an example. And then we have the full-bodied, dark, ripe Grenache. Cirillo's old vine Grenache is certainly of the second type. The 2016 Cirillo 1850 Ancestor Grenache comes from the arguably oldest Grenache vineyard in the world, grown on the sandy soils of Vine Vale.
This wine is loaded with fruit flavours; raspberry, red and black cherry, boysenberry. Mint and mushroom flavours deliver complexity on the palate. The mouthfeel is smooth, and a little sweet. This weighty wine is balanced and still quite fresh, backed by firm tannins, before it ends on a silky and long finish. It all works.
This is a real crowd pleaser.
Score: 96/+++
2 comments:
Hello Thomas,
I’d like to hear your thoughts on how you determine when a wine such as this, is overripe please?
It sounds as if this wine went close to that?
Regards
Colin
I believe it starts with fruit weight. To be overripe, the wine needs to be concentrated and intense. The other two components are sweetness and alcohol. When grapes are overripe, not all sugar may get converted to alcohol, yet the alcohol level is still high.
In relation to the Cirillo, there is fruit weight and a little sweetness, but I detected no heat from alcohol. Grenache ripens fast when it does, and sugar shoots up. The picking time is more critical than with any other grape variety. In this case, it was judged well.
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