Rhône ranging: The evolution of Australia’s red Rhône varieties

A common charge levelled against the French wine industry is its restrictive appellation legislation. Though drawn up with good intentions, it can indeed cramp winemakers’ creativity.

How freeing it must be therefore to make wine in countries like Australia, unhindered by such bureaucracy. But the local market can also have a constraining influence on wine styles – many drinkers have specific notions about exactly what they want from established classics such as Barossa Shiraz.

Scroll down for 20 scintillating red Rhône varieties from Australia

When it comes to lesser-known varieties, there is more space to experiment. ‘People are much more inclined to play around in the cellar with Grenache than Shiraz,’ says Jack Scholz of The Willows Vineyard in the Barossa Valley, which is why there’s been such a dramatic evolution in the style of this Southern Rhône staple over the past 10 years.

Not just in Barossa, but throughout South Australia and beyond.

Given their suitability to hot climates, it’s puzzling that other red Rhône varieties never took off like Shiraz. But now that does seem to be happening – mainly Grenache at the moment, but there’s also growing interest in Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Carignan.

The Barossa Grenache renaissance

Until recently, much Australian Grenache resembled an alcoholic fruit soup. But there’s a burgeoning contemporary expression that makes this variety the most exciting in the country. If you haven’t tried any for a while, this is the time to revisit it.

So what’s changed? ‘I got sick of drinking those bigger, heavier wines’ says Jason Schwarz of the Schwarz Wine Co, who made his first Grenache in 2002. Back then, he would pick very ripe, when the grapes were starting to shrivel. He’d destem the crop and age the wine for two years in 300-litre barrels.

Today, his Meta Grenache uses 80% whole bunch to bring brightness, freshness and ‘perceived acidity’, he says. He picks around two weeks earlier now, and the winemaking is gentler, using indigenous yeasts.

Instead of seven days maceration, he opts for three to four weeks and he uses larger format barrels, bottling after 10 months to capture the grape’s natural perfume. The result is balanced, drinkable and delicious.

Barossa Valley is home to the oldest Grenache vines in the world, dating back to the 1840s. Though planted a little all over the region, there’s an outcrop of sand from Light Pass to Vine Vale on the border with the Eden Valley that’s become a hotspot for this new style, including The Willows, Schwarz Wine Co, Vinya Vella, Spinifex, Ollin and Cirillo.

Elsewhere in Barossa, this modern version is favoured by Alkina, Geyer Wine Co, Yelland & Papps and Tscharke. For a fuller, more generous style, look to Charles Melton, Hayes Family Wines, John Duval, Tim Smith and Turkey Flat.

The grand cru of McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale is closer to the sea than Barossa and it’s not quite as hot. There are some extraordinary Grenache-based wines being produced here too, in a perfumed, red-fruited, slightly lighter style.

Blewitt Springs in the north-east of the region needs to be on your radar. It’s the source of some of the greatest Grenaches in the country. Yangarra’s High Sands for example is sourced from this Australian grand cru.

Walking here feels like crossing a beach dune, and although it’s just 15km from the sea, these soils don’t have a marine origin – it’s wind-blown loess over ironstone.

Yangarra’s winemaker Peter Fraser says that Grenache was originally planted here for its drought tolerance. He adds that few other crops would successfully grow in these sandy soils, which means that today there’s a proliferation of very old vines.

He describes the wines from this particular site as giving red and blue rather than black fruit flavours, and a brighter, more aromatic style.

Look out for McLaren Vale Grenaches by Bekkers, Aphelion, d’Arenberg, Ministry of Clouds, SC Pannell, Thistledown, MMAD, Bondar, Samson Tall, Brash Higgins, Gentle Folk, Sherrah and Varney Wines.

New varieties, further afield

Though more famous for its Riesling, Clare Valley is another South Australian region with some gnarly old Grenache. Thanks to the big difference between the hot days and cool nights here, the wines have an elegance and spicy/fragrant allure.

Sam Barry of Jim Barry Wines says that historically Grenache was always the cheapest variety to buy from growers. ‘It used to have that stigma of being a variety for fortified wine,’ he explains. Now it’s the most expensive.

He’s just bought two old vineyards in Clare, one dating to 1938, the other to 1954. Both have a spicy note akin to paprika or Szechuan pepper, and first vintages are highly promising.

Kilikanoon is another believer in Rhône varieties in Clare Valley. It makes Grenache, Shiraz and some excellent Mourvèdre, sometimes known locally as Mataro. The style in South Australia is different to Bandol or Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

It tends to be less dark and gruff than the French style, more polished and filigree. Sussex Squire is another good producer in Clare. In Barossa, try Mourvèdre from Hayes Family Wines, Hewitson or Soul Growers; in McLaren Vale, there’s Rudderless, Kay Brothers and Chalk Hill.

It’s still early days for other red Rhône varieties in Australia, but Brad Hickey of Brash Higgins proves they have potential.

‘Rhône varieties have become really interesting players,’ he says. ‘We’ve had huge amounts of luck with Cinsault, Carignan and Mourvèdre.’

His pure Cinsault cuvée Cins is reminiscent of cult west bank Southern Rhônes such as Domaine L’Anglore.

Back to blends

Belinda van Eyssen (below) is winemaker for The Cutting in Barossa, but she previously lived and worked in South Africa. She also makes an excellent Cinsault, but she points out that although Australia might be making very good varietal wines from Rhône grapes, ‘blends haven’t really made it here’.

The GSM – a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre – was popular for a while, but now it’s not quite as fashionable. One benefit of blends is that they put the spotlight on place rather than the flavour profile of a specific grape.

It was partly blends that led to South Africa’s recent wine renaissance. Will the same thing happen in Australia?

It comes back to the local market – if Australian wine lovers are turned off by blends, then they’ll never succeed. That hasn’t stopped Adelina in Clare Valley though, which has won praise for its Estate Introspect, a field blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Ugni Blanc, Roussanne and Carignan.

As local winemakers master these characterful grapes, I hope they are inspired to blend them as well as bottling varietal wines. Whatever your favourite grape variety, it’s always good to find creativity and originality in your glass.

Top 20 Australian wines made from red Rhône varieties

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