2023 Head Ancestor Vine Grenache

95 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Alex’s elite version of Grenache, the fruit is from a 167-year-old vineyard near Springton in the Eden Valley, which sits at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level. This places it in the coolest and driest parts of the Valley. Yield was just half a tonne per acre. A portion, just 10%, of whole bunches were included in the ferment, which was with wild yeasts. Maturation was for a year in an old Austrian puncheon. Just 756 bottles made. A vibrant crimson hue, there are spicy notes with aromas of red fruits, strawberries, cherries, a flick of aniseed, bay leaves and cranberries. This is an elegant style of Grenache, with a silky texture, good focus, really impressive length and an intensity which hovers under the radar but is always there. A beautiful Grenache for drinking over the next decade.

94 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

This is from Stonegarden planted 167 years ago. 10% whole bunch. Old Austrian oak They used to call Arnold Schwarzenegger ‘The Austrian Oak’. 786 bottles produced. Raspberry, red cherry, a hazelnut praline richness, mint and rosy perfume. Medium to full-bodied, a nutty savoury element, some blood orange and peel, fine grainy tannin, dried herb perfume and spice, quite dusty/peppery on a finish of excellent length. It’s a wine of distinct character from a cooler, more spicy year, and very good too.

94 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion

Deep crimson with characters of satsuma plum, red cherry and dark berry fruits, hints of exotic spice, black tea, gingerbread, purple florals, dried meats, crushed rock and gentle crushed herbs. Finely structured with nicely poised red and dark fruits, an array of spice and exotic nuance and an understorey of fine, powdery granitic tannin, finishing sustained with bright sour-cherry acidity and an elegant line.