All things Grenache

Today it is all about Grenache, Garnacha, Cannonau

A grape variety that features in all the major wine countries, France, Italy, Spain, US and Australia. Grenache shines in all these places, it may be blended with another variety, Grenache in the winery is a team player and really works well with other varieties like Shiraz, Mataro and Tempranillo however it can also steal the spotlight and go solo and make beautiful red wines in an array of styles.

On my most recent podcast episode I am discussing Grenache as a grape, how it acts in the vineyard, winery and a few of the major Grenache regions across the world and styles of Grenache that are worth getting to know.

Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine varieties in the world with France and Spain being the largest principal wine regions.

Its origins date back to Europe, in Jancis Robinson book the Oxford Companion to Wine - which I highly recommend every wine lover grab a copy of. It is stated that Grenache is most likely from Northern Spain, particularly within the Aragon region, mainly because of these 2 points, this is the only place where a broad range of varieties of Grenache as found (grey, white and red variables of the variety) and the second being more recent studies indicate a significant clonal diversity in Spain.

Viticulture

· in the vineyard Grenache ripens late, so it needs hot and dry conditions, to make sure the grape can reach full ripeness and not be interrupted by rain or cold weather

· the Grenache vine has a strong wood canopy and upright growth, this is why you see Grenache bush vines in places like Southern Rhone, Priorat and throughout South Australia.

· the vine has an excellent tolerance to strong winds, > the Mistral winds in the Rhone and the Cierzo winds in Spains Aragon region

· The grapevine buds early, and as mentioned earlier it ripens late, this means the grape requires a long growing season in order to completely ripen, it is actually one of the last grapes to be harvested, typically picked weeks after Cabernet Sauvignon

· Because the grape has a long ripening process the grapes sugars are allowed to slowly accumulate and they can reach high levels, and high sugar levels mean high potential alcohol levels, Grenache can produce grapes that can make wines of 15%

· It is for this reason Grenache is used to produce Fortified wines

· Grenache has very thin skins, this produces wine that is pale in colour and low in tannins

· Grenache is a pretty vigorous variety although it is susceptible to a few diseases that can affect the grapes yield.

· Coulure - a failure of grapes to develop after flowering

· Bunch Rot

· Downy mildew

Soil

· Grenache can adapt to an array of soil types but it tends to do best and enjoys hot, dry soil types that can well drained

· In Southern France Grenache grows well in Schist and granite soils, in Southern Rhone's famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape Grenache thrives in the areas stony soils.

· In Spain's Priorat region Grenache enjoys a crumbly schist soil, the soil retains enough water and vignerons here can dry farm their vineyards

· When Grenache is irrigated the wines can appear paler in colour and also the flavours will be less concentrated

the flavour profile of Grenache is

· red fruit flavours - raspberry, strawberry, red plums

· spicy notes - white pepper and cinnamon

· with time in bottle the wine can develop notes of leather and tar

· Whilst Grenache brings high alcohol, the wines can sometimes lack acid, colour and tannin - this is why Grenache is often blended with other varieties like Shiraz, Mataro, Tempranillo, Cinsault and others.

which brings me to the next topic before I get into the grape’s key regions, the winemaking side!

· Grenache is often used in blends; it adds sweet fruitiness to the wine and also helps to increase alcohol levels

· A winemaker might have a couple of issues with the variety as it can easily oxidise and lose its colour, to help prevent this, the wine should be racked as little as possible.

· the grape has naturally low levels of tannins and sometimes winemakers might want to compensate for that with winemaking techniques like harsh pressing to squish out and extract all those tannins or hot fermentations with stems to extract the maximum amount of phenols from the skins. This can work, or it can go wrong and the wine can end up having a harsh herbaceous flavour

· Grenache has 2 key things that make it the perfect grape variety for fortified wine, high alcohol levels and gentle tannins, it is the grape responsible for Frances Vin Doux Naturels of the Roussillon region and Australia's Port style wines.

When it comes to Grenache, France and Spain are on a definite need to know list. I'll also add Australia to the mix because I am very passionate about single varietal Australian Grenache.

France

· In France the majority of Grenache plantings are in the South.

· in Southern France, Grenache thrives in Languedoc and Roussillon regions where it is commonly blended or used in fortified wines

· in Provence, it is blended and used to make rose wine

· Syrah is the grape of Northern Rhone but in the South Grenache dominates, it is the most common variety of the 13 permitted red varieties in Chateauneuf-du-pape

· Grenache is the key component in many southern Rhone appellations, a couple you might be aware of are Cotes du Rhone - Grenache is typically blended with Syrah and Mourvèdre

· Gigondas AOC sometimes known as baby Chateauneuf-du-Pape is also a Grenache dominant blended wine

France is a country where Grenache is somewhat a work horse variety and used in blends.

Let's take a look and see what is going down in the country's birth place, Spain!

Grenache in Spain is known as Garnacha!

Garnacha was long considered a workhorse variety in Spain, it was thought to be a low quality variety that gave high yields and it could be blended away. Grenache's reputation had a bit of a boost with the success of Garnacha-based wines from Priorat in Catalonia, this pushed winemakers and vineyard owners to have another look at Grenache and the varieties potential.

Garnacha is now the 3rd most planted red variety in Spain, behind Tempranillo and Bobal. There are a couple of regions to keep an eye out for.

Priorat, a small wine region located in Catalonia, North Eastern Spain.

· it is believed that Grenache has been planted here for nearly 800 years! but it was in the 90s when old vine Garnacha gained attention

· The younger generation re-discovered the low-yielding bush vines planted on the brown schist soils and saw the potential. There is actually a brilliant documentary on this called Priorat, dreaming of wine

· In Priorat there is a unique combination of extremely old vine Grenache + steep schist terraces + very low yields, this makes from wine that is dense, rich and super concentrated the wines are darkly coloured with noticeable tannins.

· Roughly 40% of plantings in Priorat are Grenache, the 2nd most notable variety would be Carignan

Rioja

· Garnacha is blended with Tempranillo and here it provides flavours of juicy red fruit and also body to the wine

· The younger generation of Rioja producers have been increasing the amount of Garnacha in their blends with an aim to produce an early drinking style and more approachable wine.

· In Rioja Garnacha is also used to produce Rose wine

· Majority of plantings of Garnacha can be found in Riojas warmer Baja sub region

Now let's hop to the other side of the world and talk about Australia, Aussie Grenache!

· In all of Australia there at approx 1500ha planted of Grenache, the variety represents 1.7% of all red variety plantings

· to top 5 Grenache producing regions are Riverland at number one, a region known for producing bulk wines.

· 2nd biggest producer of Grenache is the famous Barossa Valley and thirdly another South Australian region, McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale's jewel grape has quickly become Grenache, here old vines have deep roots and low yields and are able to produce concentrated and complex wines.

Listen to my recent Grenache podcast to learn more :)