Torbreck Les Amis Grenache 2022

"My good mate used to live in the house next to the Slade vineyard. I've wandered these vines quite a few times with a Cooper's Pale in my hand; the vines are epic, gnarly old beasts, some of the best. Pure satsuma plum fruits daubed with souk-like spice along with hints of gingerbread, pomegranate, cola, char siu, biltong, dried citrus rind, some amaro herbs and an expression of blood orange. It's no airy, fragrant style. There's resonance and power here, abundant spice, bright acidity and a solid core of plum and ginger that rolls along nicely."

"The 2022 Les Amis Grenache is from a dry-grown Grenache vineyard, at around 320 meters in elevation, with blue stone, schist and ironstone on a bedrock of clay. Perfume and aromatic lift define the wines made from this place. It matured in small casks, with 30% to 40% new oak. The wine is rich, chocolaty, dense and fulsome, with dry savory spice and a variety of deli meats on the palate. It's a powerhouse of a wine, all gnarled muscle and gravelly length, accurately underpinned by pomegranate, wet garden rose and ferruginous tannins. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork and wax."