Tim Smith Barossa Grenache 2017
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Winemaker Notes
Tim's third Grenache from three Barossa vineyards 80+ years old. Some whole bunches in the ferment, 12 months aging in old French oak.
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Wine & Spirits
Tim Smith sources the fruit for this wine from three vineyards with vines more than 80 years old; he includes some whole bunches in the fermentation, then ages the wine for a year in neutral French oak. It’s brisk and complex, needing air to come into focus, leaving behind some heady volatility and tightening up around bright red fruit and savory mushroom notes. It gains freshness and lengthens out with hints of violets in the end. §
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Wine Spectator
Crisp and vibrant, featuring an energetic mix of strawberry and maraschino cherry flavors, mingling with a pungent herb note that finds balance on the finish. The creamy body and details of clove and nutmeg are distinctive. Drink now through 2026.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine offers a summer fruit salad of blueberries, watermelons and strawberries beneath a cherry blossom note. Thanks to bright acidity it's also fresh, juicy and light on its feet, wound with lithe tannins to keep it from veering into flabby territory.
He chose God’s-Own-Barossa as his home, on account of its dream combination of the right region and the right varieties. Within this region, old vine Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz and Riesling are found in small pockets, and Tim turns these ‘gardens’ into something special. A combination of age old varieties and clones, plus the myriad of soil structures and elevations within this famous region, makes it a winemakers’ playground.
All Tim Smith wines are made with small select parcels of high quality fruit and are made in small batches of 250-700 cases. The mantra for the brand is that if it does not bear the Tim Smith ‘Thumbprint’ then it is does not meet the quality standard.
Grenache thrives in any warm, Mediterranean climate where ample sunlight allows its clusters to achieve full phenolic ripeness. While Grenache's birthplace is Spain (there called Garnacha), today it is more recognized as the key player in the red blends of the Southern Rhône, namely Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and its villages. Somm Secret—The Italian island of Sardinia produces bold, rustic, single varietal Grenache (there called Cannonau). California, Washington and Australia have achieved found success with Grenache, both flying solo and in blends.
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.