Stephen Pannell of S.C. Pannell Wines. Julian Cebo for S.C. Pannell Wines

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What’s the matter? Have we got so busy we can no longer spare the time to utter two words to describe something? Grenaissance is a new one. It’s the renaissance of grenache. But grenache never had a time in the sun, so how can it have a revival?

I digress. If I didn’t have the utmost respect for the three McLaren Vale winemakers who came to Sydney peddling the Grenaissance, I’d be tempted to make fun of it. (If three Rutherglen muscat makers did this they’d be the Three Muscateers, of course, but Grenadiers doesn’t quite work.)

Stephen Pannell of S.C. Pannell, Peter Fraser* of Yangarra, and David Gleave of Willunga 100 are the three chaps, who have been doing a series of presentations to the wine trade and media, promoting their grenache wines.

Those of us who have tasted their wines needed no convincing: they’re making outstanding grenache. Fraser holds the record for the highest priced grenache in the region, with his Yangarra High Sands (AUD $300). Pannell is pressing hard, this year releasing an AUD $250 grenache, the Sunrise 99, which is by some margin the dearest grenache he’s released to date. It’s from a special patch of his Little Branch vineyard which had its 99th crop in 2022.

Gleave is coming up fast on the inside rail: he is a relative newby to selling McLaren Vale grenache but his wines are making up for lost time, winning plaudits from writers as well as medals and trophies in the shows. Willunga 100’s 2023 grenache ‘normale’ won three trophies—for the best grenache, best red wine and best wine of show—at Canberra’s National Wine Show 2025 (the ’23 Trott Vineyard also went gold). And the 2024 Trott Vineyard won two trophies at the 2025 Sydney Royal Wine Show: best grenache and best small producer wine. Unlike the other two grenadiers, Willunga 100 is using the show system as a key part of its marketing effort.

Flagship wines may be expensive, but a key message of the Grenaissance events is that most grenache is very affordable: each of the three has plenty of affordable grenache that is excellent. Willunga 100’s ‘normale’ grenache is just AUD $33, while its single vineyard bottlings are around AUD $65. Pannell’s Basso Garnacha is AUD $32; the Smart, Little Branch and Old McDonald single vineyard wines are AUD $85. Yangarra’s Old Vine Grenache is AUD $50, the Ovitelli and Hickinbotham bottlings are both AUD $80.

The three ‘calling cards’, as Gleave called the entry-level grenaches, are all from the prized Blewitt Springs subregion, and all are grown on old vines (50+ years old), which are all unirrigated.

Perhaps to soften up the audience and get them to ponder the idea of medium-bodied red wine, the first bracket of blind wines they poured were their three entry-level grenaches, alongside three medium-bodied wines from other regions and other grape varieties which they admire. The audience was asked to pick which were the grenaches. A few might have come close but most, I’d wager, had little clue. The wines all had a lovely mineral savouriness, good powdery drying tannins and were not overtly fruity. They had this in common with the grenaches. They were ultimately revealed as Isole e Olena Chianti Classico 2022, Giant Steps Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2024 and G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo 2024.

Pannell’s point was well made: they all have plenty of good tannins, and tannin is very important in light-bodied red wines as it helps with their ability to go with food. He might have added that in Australia we accept tannin as an important part of full bodied reds but we are a bit scared of it in lighter reds. Needlessly.

There was a lot more good copy that came out of the Grenaissance event, including some background on grenache in the Vale, but I will save that for the week commencing December 8.

Postscript

We at The Real Review were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Pete Fraser, Yangarra’s champion winemaker and a champion bloke, in a fire at his home in Clarendon, South Australia, on Thursday. Pete was just 51 and had the world at his feet. He was at the top of his game and had been hailed by all and sundry as one of our greatest winemakers, specialising in McLaren Vale grenache and other Rhône varieties.

Just two weeks ago I sat beside him at lunch after he’d presented a tasting of all 15 vintages of his wonderful High Sands Grenache, and I will always cherish the memory.

We and the entire Australian wine industry will miss him dearly, and our sympathies go out to his family.