Twenty years ago, it would have been inconceivable to drink wines of the Vanguardist style. Large producers, aided by compliant wine critics and journalists churned out full bodied, sweet fruited and extracted wines. Small producers were no different, and it seemed everyone was pulling in the same direction. Then along came Vanguardist and a bevvy of other small, contrarian grape lovers who insisted that there were other ways to tell a vinous story.
And it’s the small guys who are disruptive and create cool. It was the fabulous 2019 vintage that really cemented the style of Vanguardist – intense, bright, sweet but tangy fruit, mouthwatering, mineral, lacy tannins, sensual and ethereal. Flavour without heaviness, tannins that are long and fine, like drawing on a longbow; compact, precise and linear yet wide and expansive.
Great producers deliver the goods. After tasting this release, we opened a bottle of the 2020 Vanguardist Grenache. The two vintages could not have been more different, yet the flavour profiles are almost identical. 2020 was a relentlessly hot and low yielding vintage, extremely difficult for the wine grower. Yet you taste none of the stress or anguish in the glass.
2021 is of course hailed as a great vintage, and so it is and the resultant wine is a little brighter, more intense, piquant and finer. The tannins are lacier and more vigorous, tighter and compact. All these however are differences of millimetres and it’s the shape of the wines that fleshes out the vintage differences. The 2020 is a little rounder, the whole bunch tannins riper and softer, judged to utter perfection. It would have been hard in such an uncompromising vintage not to imbibe the wine with chewier tannins.
The spring 2022 releases are the best we have tasted. Ethereal and charming, I loved the evident distinctiveness of McLaren Vale. They didn’t taste like Southern Rhone, Burgundy or Bandol, yet had all their elegance, sensuality and vibrant presence. The 2021 Mourvèdre is one of the best ever to have been made in Australia and, excitingly I think, still has even greater potential. The 2022 Grenache/Mourvèdre Rose is wonderful and alongside the Swinney Mourvèdre, the best in Australia.
Vanguardist Rose 2022
Grenache 66%/Mourvèdre 34%. Striking aromatics, a bit wild and exotic in a good way. Strawberry, cut hay, mandarin, savoury, smokey and earthy tones. Really tangy palate, yet the fruit is sweet and caressing. Extremely complex, with layers of texture and flavour. Delicate cream, watercress, Vietnamese mint, Middle Eastern spices, apricot, citrus zest and grapefruit. Great vibrancy, a sort of yin and yang of precision and ethereal exoticism. Absorbing and beautiful, one of the best roses we have tasted.
Vanguardist Mourvèdre 2021
Charming was the first thought that came to mind upon tasting the 2021 Vanguardist Mourvèdre. Absolutely gorgeous aromatics of fennel rhubarb, licorice, blackcurrant, spiced plum and custard. The fruits so sweet, but in no way sickly or jubey. The palate’s so fine, the flavours so pure the texture supple and translucent. Blueberry, blackberry, sweet and savoury spice, bright and intense, tangy and the tannins, so fine and loose. Beautiful, sensual and ethereal Mourvèdre.
Vanguardist Grenache 2021
Flavours very similar to the 2020, but the shape and texture different, and the level of energy and concentration smashing the dials. Some Nebbiolo notes of tar and roses, giving way to rhubarb, licorice, creaming soda and raspberry. Sleek, bright and intense, the fruit a deep unfathomable core, the wine already delicious, promising future delights. Darker fruits on the palate also, blueberry and hedge fruits, an element of fresh soil and minerals. Chalky mineral grip, such impressive hold over the palate, the tannins so long, relentless and effortless. A wine of effortless control and graceful power. An iron fist in a velvet glove, with years ahead of it.
