- McLaren Vale, SA - $16-$25
- Screwcap
- 14.5%alc
With long established labels like Custodian, Derelict Vineyard, Cadenzia, Ironstone Pressings and d'Arry's Original, McLaren Vale's d'Arenberg must surely possess Australia's greatest collection of grenache based wines. For around $20 the 2007 Custodian Grenache is a genuinely structured example of its regional style.
Evenly ripened and fruity without being sweet, its dark aromas of plum, blackberries and cranberry reveal meaty aspects and a subtle spice character, with a subdued influence of older oak sitting happily in the background. Texturally it's quite elegant for grenache, with a silky smooth entry that unloads medium-bodied, savoury flavours of earth, cherry, meats and sarsaparilla wrapped up by a rustic cut of firm, fine-grained and drying tannins. Penetrating with true length and an assertive structural lift towards a savoury climax, its masculine finish altogether contradicts its sensual, varietal entry in a well conceived metamorphosis.
ü+ d'Arenberg's made the most of the tannic nature of many 2007 reds, by producing a structured and savoury Custodian Grenache which plays to its regional strengths. It's an ideal grenache for medium term cellaring. Drink 2011-2017.
91 points
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