Mark Bulman made a name for himself in his native South Australia with over a decade at the Barossa’s Turkey Flat, claiming the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 2017. That was with a grenache, the first win for the variety, and it was the result of much experimentation with and affection for the grape. 

Stonegarden Vineyard established in 1857.

Vineyard established in 1857. Thin loam over a substrate of red-brown clay covering sandstone with gold bearing quartz veins. Micaceous schist fragments scattered throughout. 390m Altitude. In the rain shadow of the Mount Lofty ranges on a plateau looking easterly over the Murray Mallee.

Glen Monaghan grew the Grenache for the 2024 Vintage.

This is the more open of the 2023 grenache pair, with darker red fruits, but there’s a familial thread of philosophy, of process, yielding a lucid clarity, a poise, and an uninterrupted view of fruit and site. Wild cherry, redcurrant, dusty white peppercorns, tamarind, orange peel, bitter herbs and a rugged mineral line rendered refined, evoking graphite, iron and struck rock, the drive of calmly resolute tannin sheathed elegantly with silky fruit, giving this an effortless feel, an engaging ease. That takes nothing away from the seriousness, though. It’s pinnacle Barossa grenache. Date: July 2024; Alcohol: 13.6%; Drink by: 2036; Rating: 97 Points & Special Value Star; James Halliday Wine Companion