Alcohol percentage: 14.0% Area: McLaren Vale is home to Australia’s juiciest, ripest, most open-hearted Shiraz. Most examples are huge in every way. But this is a new, alternative version – see below. Grape variety: 100% Grenache, fermented cool and bottled without any oak maturation, to retain maximum freshness. Producer: Bob Oatley made his name as founder and direct or Rosemount in the heyday of the Aussie wine boom. Having sold that empire he set up his own brand, focussing on small lots of relatively fine wine in all the key areas. It is now managed by his son Sandy and winemaker is the renowned Larry Cherubino. The Bottle Shop rating: Exciting, ‘modern’ style of Aussie Grenache – captures all the fruit without much heaviness of body or alcohol.
