2024 Yalumba Vine Vale Grenache, Barossa Valley

Ultimately, the Yalumba 2024 Vine Vale Grenache won over more of the judges first preferences with its exceptional red fruited freshness, purity, balanced winemaking influence and the persistence of flavour that carried effortlessly across the palate. It’s a very well- crafted and composed wine that speaks to both vineyard and sensitive winemaking. The judges also appreciated and discussed how this modern expression of Grenache would be quite versatile and suited across contemporary cuisines and eating occasions.

97 points Top Gold

Toby Barlow, Chair of Judges

Winner Of The 2025 Halliday Grenache Challenge

Yalumba do good things with grenache, that's for sure. This sandy soils of Vine Vale at the base of the Eastern Range are just perfect for the variety, too. They coax the high tones and detail out of the variety that I just love. Supple red cherry, dark plum and raspberry fruits cut with exotic spice, subtle bunchy nuance, cola, gingerbread, citrus blossom and earth. Savoury and great drinking with powdery tannin and tail of raspberry, red cherry and spice.

94 points Special Value Dave Brookes winecompanion.com.au

Yalumba’s Vine Vale Grenache is a celebration of one of the Barossa Valley’s oldest and most characterful subregions. Vine Vale sits on the Barossa’s sandy loam soils, which are particularly well suited to Grenache, producing wines with lifted aromatics, fine tannins, and a supple, medium-bodied style. Many of the vineyards here date back decades, some to the early 20th century, and the old vines naturally yield small crops of intensely flavoured fruit. Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family-owned winery established in 1849, has long championed Grenache, treating it with the same respect and detail often reserved for more high-profile varieties, and this wine reflects both their heritage and the special nature of Vine Vale fruit.

In the glass, the Vine Vale Grenache shows a bright ruby hue and aromas of raspberry, red cherry, and cranberry layered with rose petal, baking spice, and subtle hints of anise. The palate is juicy and vibrant, delivering fresh red berry fruit framed by silky tannins and a gentle spice lift from maturation in older French oak, which adds complexity without masking the fruit’s purity. There’s an underlying savoury note and a fine sandy texture that speaks directly of Vine Vale’s soils. The style is graceful and food friendly, leaning more toward elegance than sheer power.

It pairs beautifully with slow-roasted lamb shoulder with pomegranate glaze, Moroccan chicken tagine, chargrilled eggplant with tahini, or soft, creamy cheeses like Taleggio. Best enjoyed in its youth for vibrancy, it can also be cellared for 5 to 7 years, gaining more earthy, savoury complexity.