48 APRIL 2019
LOVE PINOT NOIR for its silky elegance? Check out
Grenache. Syrah for its spicy power? Ditto. Fan of
the recent category of “red blends” filling wine-store
shelves? Again, spend some time with Grenache: It’s
the backbone of one of the original great red blends,
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, whose luscious richness
many of those wines try to hint at (but rarely
achieve). Grown everywhere from southern France
to central Spain to coastal California to Australia’s
sunlit hills, Grenache is the greatest, most widely
planted, yet (weirdly) little-known grape around.
GLORIOUS
GLOBAL
GRENACHES
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2016 YALUMBA
OLD BUSH VINE
GRENACHE ($20)
Don’t be fooled by this
Aussie red’s pale ruby
hue—there are layers
of bright flavor here.
Think fresh rasp-
berries plus a little
citrusy zing. Yalumba,
one of Barossa’s
oldest family-owned
wineries, excels at all
price levels.
2016 COMANDO G LA
BRUJA DE ROZAS
GARNACHA ($27)
Spain’s Sierra de
Gredos region has
rocketed to visibility
thanks to young
winemakers like Dani
Landi and Fernando
García of Comando
G. This herb-scented,
lively red is affordable
yet impressively fra-
grant and complex.
2017 BONNY DOON
CLOS DE GILROY
($20)
Randall Grahm of
Bonny Doon made
his name with his
Grenache-inclusive,
Châteauneuf-inspired
Le Cigare Volant
bottling. Long a fan
of the grape, he has
also made this crisp,
strawberry-scented
red since the mid-’80s.
NV SAINT COSME
LITTLE JAMES’
BASKET PRESS
RED ($14)
Louis Barruol makes
some of the most
sought-after wines
in France’s south-
ern Rhône. He also
ignores the region’s
rules to produce this
multi-vintage Gre-
nache. It bursts with
red fruit and spice.
2014 D’ARENBERG
THE DERELICT
VINEYARD GRENACHE
($29)
As its name suggests,
d’Arenberg’s Chester
Osborn sought out
old, abandoned vine-
yards throughout
Australia’s McLaren
Vale for this potent
red (and used antique
basket presses from
the 1800s to make it).
2019
SPRING
WINE
GUIDE
