2017 Massena Stonegarden Grenache, Eden Valley

The distinguished Stonegarden vineyard probably needs little introduction. Originally planted--at almost 400 metres a.s.l.--in the 1850s at Springton, this single vineyard is commonly cited by the region's winemakers as one of South Australia's blue-ribbon sites. Once part of an ancient sea bed, the vineyard's thin loam soils sit above a substrate of red clay containing rose quartz and black mica schist fragments. In the heat of summer, cool breezes and low night temperatures promote the long, slow ripening of fruit resulting in complex flavours with balanced acidity and--for the black grapes--fine, silky tannin.

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How wonderful it is to see the Massena boys now working with Stonegarden Grenache. This inaugural vintage was harvested in two parcels from the finest parcels of Grenache on the vineyard. The first parcel was destemmed into a ceramic egg and aged on skins for several months to extract a fine grain tannin structure. A second was fermented as whole bunches and foot stomped over a period of two weeks giving a broader more grainy tannin profile. A fine acid balance is the hallmark of this vineyard, and combined with a fine-boned structure, will ensure this Grenache is constantly evolving as it ages.

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