There are plenty of producers crafting good wines from excellent, well known fruit sources in McLaren Vale. It is, in a sense, crowded. But a crowd brings competition and competition, for the patient wine lover, gifts beautiful, authentic wines that most of us can afford. Across my kitchen bench is a range of Juxtaposed grenaches and a fiano, neither of which it has to be said are amongst my favourite varietals and so before we taste, some context.
Grenache
Grenache has become a bit of a thing, owing to large plantings, predominantly in South Australia of the oldest Grenache vines in the world. Ned Goodwin has gone so far as to say that it is Australia’s most important varietal.
Grenache is thought to be a great expresser of site and, as such, many producers are comparing it to pinot noir, and attempting to craft Australia’s Burgundy from it, with an emphasis on high toned aromatics, lithe frames, minerality and sandy tannins. Personally I am not a fan of emulation or the persistence in forcing lightness on a varietal that demands richness, flavour, curved shapes and opulent flesh. Certainly in South Australia at least. Furthermore, many expressions of grenache at the vanguard do taste terrific, with youth on their side, but taste an older vintage at 7 to 8 years or so and they taste like any medium bodied dry red.
On another level
So to say that I was a little underwhelmed at the prospect of tasting the wines of Juxtaposed is a bit of an understatement. Their distributor, however, knows what we like and was particularly insistent that we taste, and I’m glad he did. From the Fiano to the two single vineyard grenaches, these wines were on another level of deliciousness. Soaring aromatics, pure sweet fleshy fruit, plenty of mid palate stuffing, silken palates and black tea tannins. Just beautiful.
Kept simple
Juxtaposed is a collaboration between grape grower Peter Somerville, viticulturist Peter Bolte and winemaker Wes Pearson. Fruit is sourced from some of the greatest and best known McLaren Vale vineyards and the wines are better and less expensive than just about all of their peers. Wine making is simple, the grapes entirely destemmed. Ageing takes place in large format oak, some new and bottled without fining or filtration.
Grenache is malleable. Chateauneuf-du-Pape can taste, look and feel like almost anything, not just because of the 13 permitted grapes and variety of sites, but from the choices producers are able to make in both vineyard and cellar. Juxtaposed are a rarity; pure expressions, verging on the hedonistic, perfectly balanced, without any undue weight, oak, bunches or stylistic impediments. Wine joy!
