2024 John Duval Annexus Grenache, Barossa Valley

Medium ruby red with a purple glint at the rim. Mulberry, cocoa and ironstone aromas. Powerful and loaded with red and purple fruit, layered with bitter chocolate, ironstone and freshly ground coffee. Lifted by acidity and powdery tannins, it delivers a velvety texture and carries very long, finishing dry and focused. Will cellar well. Drink 2026 to 2040.

95 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2026

John Duval spent 29 years at Penfolds, 12 of them mentored by Max Schubert, creator of Grange, and a further 17 as Chief Winemaker. When he founded his own label in 2003, he took a deliberately different direction toward wines of elegance, purity and site expression. Son Tim joined in 2016, and the family business now works exclusively with old vine fruit from trusted Barossa and Eden Valley growers.

The Annexus Grenache from vines planted in 1858 at the Stonegarden Vineyard in Eden Valley. At 167 years old these are among the oldest Grenache vines in Australia, producing tiny yields with concentration and purity. The word Annexus means attached or linked. The wine aims to illuminate the importance of Grenache in the John Duval Plexus blend.

The 2024 vintage in the Barossa ran warm and dry after a mild start, with lower yields than recent seasons but producing fruit of exceptional colour and flavour intensity. The winemaking follows restrained minimal intervention throughout and sees no fining or filtration after a resting time in older oak. The aim is to allow the vineyard and the vintage to speak without interference.

Bright crimson, the nose is lifted and fragrant with red cherry, raspberry, rose petal, savoury spice and a fine earthy undercurrent. The palate is generous and layered with elegant red fruits, silky tannins and a long, spiced finish.

Refined rather than powerful, this is a Grenache expressing its vineyard and the maker with restraint. Worth serving with a slight chill to bring out the aromatic lift. Not fridge cold, just lightly cooled. This would then go really well with typical Pinot Noir fare, roast ducks and like.

Drink now through 2032.