Versatile Grenache (Spanish, Garnacha, Catalan, Garnatxa) can be bottled as a straight varietal, is well suited for Rosé, is widely used in blends with Shiraz and Mourvedre, and high sugar levels make it suitable for fortified wines.
A sturdy drought-resistant vine with wind tolerance (useful in the Mistral-influenced Rhône valley), Grenache ripens late, prefers hot dry conditions, seems to respond favourably to a degree of water stress. The vine buds early and needs a long growing season to ripen. Tight grape clusters make it susceptible to coulure, bunch rot and downy mildew. A strong canopy and upright growth make the vine less suited to mechanical harvesters and pruning equipment, which can be a problem in mechanised regions.
The skin is thin and lightly pigmented, making light-coloured wines with low tannins. Low yielding older vines produce darker, more tannic wines. When yields are kept in check, wines develop notes of blackcurrant s, black cherries, black olives, coffee, gingerbread, honey, leather, black pepper, tar, spices and roasted nuts. As yields increase, earthy and herbal notes emerge but tend to fade on the palate.
Wines made from Grenache are generally spicy, berry-flavoured and soft on the palate with relatively high alcohol, but tend to lack acid, tannin and colour. As a result, they are often blended to fill out and soften more robust styles, adding body and fruitiness without extra tannins. In Australia it is often used in GSM blends with Shiraz and Mourvèdre.
Rosé styles show strawberry and cream notes while fortified Australian port style wines exhibit coffee and nutty tawny notes. When grown under tough conditions from old vines the wines can be rich and complex.
High sugar levels without harsh tannins make Grenache suited for fortified wines. Grape spirit is added to the must to halt the conversion of sugar into alcohol but still brings the wine up to 15-16% alcohol. The process protects the wines from Grenache's tendency to oxidise.
By 2000, Grenache was the third most widely planted red variety in France, behind Merlot and Carignan, grown throughout the Rhône Valley and across Languedoc and Roussillon. Grenache is used to make Rosé in the Côtes du Rhône, is a key ingredient of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and plays an important role in Provence.
Grenache was one of the varieties introduced to Australia by James Busby and a clone from Perpignan arrived in Busby’s 1832 collection. Cuttings from the south of France were brought to South Australia by Dr Penfold in 1844 and plantings in McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley and Clare Valley boomed.
The variety’s ability to produce high yields under irrigation made it the basis of fortified wines that underpinned the Australian industry until well into the twentieth century, and a component of many dry red clarets, but faced with a change to table wines plantings decreased and the variety was subject of a vine-pull scheme in the 1970s. The variety now accounts for less than 2% of Australian plantings.
A recent revival of Grenache from old vines in has seen rising interest in varietal Grenache as well as GSM blends which are becoming a signature Barossa/McLaren Vale style. Grenache from McLaren Vale tends towards luscious richness and spicy notes while Barossa Valley Grenache displays jammy, intense fruitiness.
Californian growers prized the variety's ability to withstand heat and drought and its high yields and Grenache was the third most planted red variety in California after Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon (until passed by Merlot) but was mostly used to produce bulk wines.
Like the Pinot family, Grenache has a number of mutations. White Grenache is an important variety in France where it is often blended with Roussanne, and is the fourth most widely planted white variety after Ugni Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon. It is a permitted variety in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
In Southern France and Sardinia, Grenache rose and Grenache gris are used for rosé and lightly tinted white wines. Garnacha Peluda or hairy Grenache may be a further mutation or a related vine and produces smaller berries with thicker skins, suggesting a greater potential for making fine wine. Garnacha Tintorera is a synonym for Alicante Bouschet, a cross of Grenache and Petite Bouschet. In 1961, a cross between Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon produced Marselan.
Grenache goes well with a range of foods. Try lighter styles with antipasto, roast vegetables or pizza. Heavier wines suit beef and work well with a back yard barbeque. GSM wines also go well with barbeques, but are not out of place with the best cuts of meat.