Country: Australia Region: Mc Laren Vale Varietal: Grenache Vintage: 2015 Colour: Red Style: Dry Producer: Willunga 100 Willunga 100 is in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide. The grapes for the... wines come from a range of selected vineyards in McLaren Vale, including some over 80 years old. Winemaker Mike Farmilo joined the team as head winemaker in 2013 and is supported by Tim James. Together they aim to produce unique and distinctive wines which capture the essence of the region. They use modern equipment alongside traditional winemaking techniques to ferment the small parcels of fruit arriving at the winery. The term "hundred" originates from late Saxon and Norman England and refers to an administrative unit of government, meaning that 100+ households had to live in the area to qualify for its place on the map. Willunga 100 select their fruit from small parcels just as the district was divided up into '100s', or small lots. Vineyards The fruit for this wine comes from the Zerella old vineyard in the Seaview sub region of McLaren Vale. The vineyard comprises of 60 year old bush vines. The climate of McLaren Vale is often compared to that of the Mediterranean with warm sunny days and sea breeze influences from the nearby Gulf of St Vincent. These warm days in union with the cooling maritime evening changes are perfect for ripening the grapes whilst maintaining a crisp, clean acid structure. Vintage Information Despite a few heat events and a lack of rain in January, McLaren Vale ended up having a gentle ripening period and near perfect conditions for flavour development, thanks to welcome rain and moderated temperatures in February, which freshened up the vines and allowed the grapes to ripen in a steadily pattern. Being a later developing variety, Grenache was not so impacted by the early heat wave and the dry grown vineyards certainly benefited from a bit of moisture. The grapes were left to hang for a long, slow ripening. Vinification The fruit was hand-picked and then gently whole bunch pressed and left to drain in the press for 24 hours, without too much colour extraction in order to keep the wine as pale as possible. The juice was settled, racked and then fermented using a more neutral yeast strain. It was then lightly fined, filtered and put into bottle as soon as possible to maintain the crisp delicate aromatics and savoury tannin structure. Tasting Notes A pretty nose full of strawberries, cherries and subtle rose petal aromatics. On the palate the wine has a lovely savoury tannin profile and crisp drying acid which gives it great length. Food Matches: Turkey / Barbecues / Lamb