Editors notes
The grapes come from a 76-year-old, dry-grown vineyard I have worked with since 2004. It was formerly
owned by Duncan McDonald and is now farmed by Matt Hatwell. It features sandy, Eocene-era soils at an
altitude of 83m above sea level. I am constantly wowed by the quality of Grenache from this vineyard and
the wine it makes. The flavours achieved here are unlike any other vineyard I work with.
The grapes were hand-picked on 4th March 2018, with a Baumé of 13.9. The fruit was fermented in
open-top fermenters with 12% whole bunches, and spent a total of 11 days on skins before gentle
pressing. No hard pressings were used. The wine was transferred to a nine-year-old 5100-litre French
oak vat for malolactic fermentation and maturation. It was racked once and bottled without filtration on 23rd January 2019. The final alcohol came in it 14.5% with a pH of 3.35 and TA of 6.5
with 60ppm total sulphur at bottling. – Stephen Pannell
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Black Cherry
- Savoury
- Strawberry
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Palate
- Earthy
- Red Cherry
- Strawberry
Food Pairings
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Game -
Pork -
Red Meat
Critic Scores & reviews
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Gary Walsh
96"Vineyard planted in 1946, 80 metres above the sea in Blewitt Springs. Big old oak. 20% whole bunch. Dark cherry, raspberry, liquorice root, clay, and sweet spice. Firm, dried rose perfumed and packed with ripe red fruits and cherry, plenty of stony tannin here, with a sort of pumice stone feel, serious yet charming. a cranberry freshness to acidity, and a long fragrant finish. Quite a wine!"
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Huon Hooke
95""Medium to deep red/purple colour, with a humus, undergrowth, dried-spice aroma that is more savoury than fruity, while the palate is similarly drying, savoury and super-serious. Darker fruit flavours are lurking within. Dried cranberry emerged with time in the glass. A full-bodied, well-structured grenache with lashings of fine, powdery, drying tannins. Lovely wine.""
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James Halliday
95""Pinot with a Mediterranean vibe. Full, but feels ethereal. Firm, but feels svelte. A mid ruby at best. Succulent. A meld of fecund raspberry, root spice, clove, cranberry and rosehip, drawn at the waist by a firm skein of saline, puckering tannin, sandy and pumice-like. The founder of the contemporary grenache zeitgeist. Fine.""
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James Suckling
96"(2018 vintage) "Very vibrant aromas of purple flowers, blueberries, plums, raspberries, forest wood and bracken, as well as some white-pepper notes. The palate brings a bright, crisp rendition of blueberry and raspberry flavors with a smooth, velvety and crisp feel to the deep, succulent fruit.""
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Grenache
- Vintage 2019
- Brand S.C. Pannell
- Cellaring 10-15 Years
- Wine Type Red
- Alcohol Percentage 14.5% Alcohol
Sc Pannell Smart Grenache 2019-
Gary Walsh95 points
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Ned Goodwin MW96 points
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Huon Hooke94 points
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James Suckling97 points
$64.99
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
Australia
Australia's wine industry is a thriving part of the country's economy, contributing significantly to employment, production, export, and tourism. In fact, the industry is the fourth-largest wine exporter in the world, shipping out 760 million liters of wine to countries including France, Italy, Spain, and the UK. One of the key factors contributing to Australia's success as a "New World" wine producer is the formal export and marketing of its wines through Wine Australia.
Australia's wine regions are scattered across the south and southeast, with almost every state boasting its own vineyards. Victoria, for example, is home to an impressive 21 wine regions. Some of the most famous wine regions in Australia include Margaret River, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Eden Valley, Clare Valley, Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley, and local regions to New South Wales such as Cowra, Southern Highlands, and Mudgee.
Australian winemakers are known for producing a diverse range of grape varieties, with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir being among the most popular. They tend to focus on producing wines that are ripe, fruit-forward, and easy to drink, using modern winemaking techniques and equipment such as stainless steel tanks and temperature-controlled fermentation.
With its bold, fruit-driven flavors and reputation for quality and diversity, Australian wine has become a popular choice for wine lovers around the world. And with such a broad range of wine regions and grape varieties, there's something for every palate to enjoy.
South Australia
If you like Australian wine, then you probably like South Australia wine. The rich reds produced there put Australia on the wine-making map of the world. With over 40% of the country's vineyards, South Australia can rightfully call itself the wine state.
Wines are produced in several regions throughout the state, though many are naturally grouped together, like Barossa and Eden Valleys, only 15 minutes apart. They include such regions as Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island, Langhorne Creek, The Limestone Coast, McLaren Vale and Wrattonbully to name but a few!
Barossa Valley boasts some of the oldest vines in Australia dating back to 1843 and produces some of the world's finest Shiraz, whilst the 'terra rossa' soils of Coonawarra is most suited to producing outstanding Cabernet Sauvignons. If you're a fan of Riesling, Clare Valley is a great place to explore and for a Maritime climate not dissimilar to parts of the Italian coastline, seek out the wines from McLaren Vale.
McLaren Vale
The McLaren Vale wine region is located less than an hours drive south of Adelaide, along the coastline.
Shiraz is by far the most widely planted variety, and the most important variety for the region, accounting for about 50% of the total crush. Every winery in the region will likely be producing at least one or more Shiraz wines, and with the wide range of unique terroirs available, each influenced by the maritime climate in unique ways, each Shiraz will have its own regional nuances.
Shiraz produced in McLaren Vale will often exhibit chocolate and coffee notes, with a little less pepper than those from Barossa Valley, and are often blended with Grenache. Other red varieties grown include Cabernet Sauvignon (and Merlot blends) Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Zinfandel. The main white variety would be Chardonnay, however Semillon and it's common blending partner Sauvignon Blanc are made, alongside lesser amounts of Riesling, Pronto Bianco, Vermentino and Fiano.
If you plan to visit McLaren Vale there are over 65 cellar doors so you'll be spoiled for choice, ranging from the small-boutique wineries to very large wineries. The drive from McLaren Vale up to the Barossa Valley is very scenic, passing over the rolling Adelaide Hills, and though the quaint German-settled town of Hahndorf.
About the brand S.C. Pannell
Esteemed by his contemporaries in Australia, Steve Pannell has been named as one of the 50 most influential contributors to the wine world by Decanter Magazine and has twice won Australia's coveted Jimmy Watson trophy - most recently in 2014 for his 2013 Adelaide Hills Syrah. Having produced vintages at Wirra Wirra and Hardy's Tintara before working overseas in Burgundy's Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Bordeaux's Chateau Mouton Rothschild and G.D. Vajra in Barolo.
Pannell's ethos is simple: "I try to create wines that suit our climate and way of life - wines to drink with the food we grow, make and eat in Australia."
The portfolio is based on parcels of old-vine, dry-grown Shiraz and Grenache from McLaren Vale and continued to expand to include Nebbiolo, Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional in addition to aromatic whites from the Adelaide Hills. Pannell's preferred winemaking techniques include open fermentation using natural yeasts. By maturing his wines in large format oak, Pannell retains each variety's integrity, showcasing its quintessential characteristics.
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