I was a bit slow to post, as I was in Asia in hot weather. It was beer time. Now back to drink some great Australian wine. Cirillo claims to own the oldest Grenache vineyard in the world, and it may well be. The vines grow on deep sands on the flats of Light Pass. As other Cirillo wines are released earlier and provide cash-flow, it is great to see that the flagship Grenache is only released at 7 years of age. So the newly released wine is the 2017 Cirillo 1850 Ancestor Grenache.
The harvesting of Grenache fruit is quite tricky, as the grapes take a while to ripen, but then ripen very quickly with baumé levels shooting up fast and risking an overripe wine. Marco Cirillo has been at this game for some time, so he knows how to manage it.
So how does the 2017 shape up? This is a full-bodied wine with raspberry flavours hitting the palate, but immediately put in check by some savoury and herbal notes. These flavours will integrate more over the next 2-3 years. This brand is always dark in colour. At 14% alcohol, it is a very drinkable wine.
This is one of Australia's leading Grenaches. It is interesting to contrast it with Yangarra's approach. The Yangarra wines are meticulously and I would say scientifically crafted. Cirillo's approach seems more intuitive. As I drink this wine, I taste Italian love and family in the glass. I really enjoy this wine.
Score: 95/+++
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