93+
Josh Raynolds - Vinous Media
"(84-year-old vines) Saturated ruby. The most aromatically complex of this year's set of grenache bottlings, displaying red and dark berries, cherry, rooty sassafras, smoky herbs and a sexy floral quality. Rich, palate-staining raspberry and boysenberry flavors are given shape by fine-grained tannins, which gain power with air. Packed with dense fruit but slow to show itself right now, finishing with a late note of exotic floral pastilles and very good youthful grip. This could use a couple years to unwind."
93 Wine Spectator
"Firm, slightly gritty in texture, giving way to pure, focused black currant, plum and spice flavors. Weaves in a touch of tar on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2017. 566 cases made." –HS
93 International Wine Review
"The Grenache Old Vines Romas Vineyard displays an opaque ruby color and is earthy in style with a soft lush palate of kirsch, amaretto and toasted oak. It has a lovely velvet texture, good intensity of flavor with rather big dry firm tannins on the finish. "
"Clarendon Hills are vineyard and varietal expressionists striving for purity and perfection. We are dedicated to single vineyard terroir wines that rival the best in the world." - Winery
About The Vineyard
The Romas Grenache site is located in Blewitt Springs and was planted in 1920.
The 'Romas Grenache' is the steepest, most elevated section of the Blewitt Springs Grenache vineyard - its uniquely special characters warrant its isolation and quarantine from the lower part of the Blewitt Springs vineyard.
This patch sits at 280 metres above sea level and is approximately 7 Kms to the ocean.
It enjoys a perfect due East aspect on a hillside that in some places reaches above a +40-degree slope gradient.
The old vines struggle to survive on a steep rock hill face with yields a microscopic 0.5 tonne / acre.
Each of the Blewitt Springs, Romas and Onkaparinga Grenache sites are planted on the same hill side. The Blewitt Springs and Romas patches are due East facing and the Onkaparinga site is at the uppermost hilltop/crown area but is western facing. All sites are within 200 metres of each other and offering special and individual expressions.
These vineyards are globally unique - the unparalleled combination of 95+ year old, pre phylloxera vines planted in the oldest geology planet earth - surveyed at 1600 million years old - produces rare and exotic exhibitions of Grenache, not seen anywhere else in the world.
Underneath these old vines are primordial, ancient formations. There is a complete lack in nitrogenous matter available for plants/vines seeking nutrient and this results in extremely limited growth capabilities (Romas vines are approx. < 30 cm tall and each site produces less than 1 tonne / acre)
The environment has effectively reduced the output potential of these vines. The rich and ancient minerals present in the root zone of these special 95+ year old vines also impart rare physiological components to the vines and excellent grapes are a result.
These are globally unique vines that reflect and express their ancient origins with subtlety and sophistication
The Burra Geological group is the one of the oldest geological sub groups on this planet. Visibly the quartzose veins sprawl across the hillside; and shattered shale and heavy mineral lamination are present deep within this ancient landscape. These rocks are among the most admired primordial ancestors on planet earth.
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