Whistler Get in My Belly Barossa Valley Grenache 2017 (Australia)

Whistler Get in My Belly Barossa Valley Grenache 2017 (Australia)"Light, bright crimson; the vilification has captured all of the varietal fruit with a slinky approach that has worked very well, with no cosmetic notes" James Suckling, Jamessuckling. com, Jul 2018 "A very pretty and delicate nose of watermelon, rose tea, hibiscus and nectarines. Medium bodied and very pure with wonderful freshness and clarity in the form of polished tannins and pretty acidity. A fresh, delightful finish" James Halliday, May 2018

"Light, bright crimson; the vilification has captured all of the varietal fruit with a slinky approach that has worked very well, with no cosmetic notes" James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com, Jul 2018

"A very pretty and delicate nose of watermelon, rose tea, hibiscus and nectarines. Medium-bodied and very pure with wonderful freshness and clarity in the form of polished tannins and pretty acidity. A fresh, delightful finish" James Halliday, May 2018

With 2017 being quite cool and wet, this wine is a very light, almost Pinot-like in colour, aroma and flavour. Fresh raspberries, boysenberries and rhubarb spring out of the glass with a whiff of spice from the whole bunch component. The palate is fresh and crisp with a layer of bright red fruits that draws the wine across the palate, makes you salivate and leaves you wanting more. The tannins are fine and elegant, and the acidity gives this wine a lot of precision on the palate.

Grown on Whistlers Heysen Estate Vineyard using organic practices, this Grenache was planted in 2001 using the clone BVRC139. The west-facing slope has quite a bit of ironstone at the top of the hill, with deeper red clay and biscay soil towards the bottom, giving the fruit great complexity within the 2,359 vines.

Picked over two dates, the 18th of March and the 11th of April 2017, this was the latest that the winemaker has harvested Grenache since the first vintage of this wine in 2014. 2017 was the coolest and wettest vintage since 2011, and the resulting wine is the lightest and most elegant of all as a result. A small portion of whole bunch (7%) was used to give this delicate vintage some crunch on the palate, and some spice and lift on the nose. The remainder of the fruit was gently destemmed out in the vineyard and fermented as whole berries to give a nice carbonic maceration juiciness to the wine. The wild ferment was foot stomped twice a day in old concrete fermenters for 15 days before gentle basket pressing. The wine was then aged in old French oak puncheons for 6 months before blending and bottling with no fining and no filtration.

Ready to drink now or cellar for 5-7 years.