Understand the grape
Getting to know the grape
Grenache is easiest to recognise by its warmth and its red fruit. A typical bottle smells of strawberry and stewed raspberry, with white pepper, dried herbs and a little orange peel. The tannin, the drying grip that red wine takes from grape skins and seeds, is usually moderate, softer than in Cabernet Sauvignon. Acidity is middling, so the wine feels round and generous rather than sharp. Because the grape buds early and ripens late, it does best where summers are long and warm, and ripeness often brings alcohol with it.
The name on the label changes with the place. In the southern Rhône the grape is Grenache, but the front label usually names the appellation, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas. In Spain it is Garnacha, in Catalonia Garnatxa, and in Sardinia Cannonau. There are also white and grey forms, called Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, which make white wines. This guide is about the red grape, Grenache Noir, which is the one most people mean.
Where Grenache changes
Grape to place
Compare how the grape grows and tastes in these places. Each guide explains the local wines; the Atlas shows where they come from.
Rhône Méridional
Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Lirac all make red wine led by Grenache. Inter Rhône reports that it covers about 42 per cent of the vineyards of the whole Rhône valley, more than any other grape. Châteauneuf-du-Pape allows thirteen grapes, yet Grenache predominates in most of its wines.
Priorat
The regulator calls Garnatxa and Carinyena (Carignan) the two most important native grapes. Vines grow on steep slopes between about 100 and 750 metres, and yields average under one kilogram per vine, so the wines are concentrated.
Navarra
Garnacha Tinta is one of nine red grapes the rules authorise. After vineyards were replanted mainly with the hardy Garnacha, Navarra became known for rosado, pink wine made by running off part of the juice from red grapes after a short soak.
Sardegna
Here the grape is Cannonau, and with Vermentino it leads the island's plantings by a wide margin. Cannonau di Sardegna is the appellation. A bottle marked Riserva has been aged for longer before release.
McLaren Vale
Over the last three years most new plantings have been Grenache and Fiano. Wine Australia describes the single-variety wines as typically high in alcohol, with lively, juicy raspberry fruit and spice.
Barossa Valley
Wine Australia says the valley has some of the oldest productive Grenache vineyards in the world. Barossa wines are often medium to full in body, with red fruit, earth and white pepper, and Grenache is a main part of Australian GSM blends.
What changes the result
Vineyard and cellar
The ripeness of the grapes, contact with their skins, and time in tanks or barrels all help shape the wine. Here is what to look for.
Low yields and old bush vines
The vine is vigorous and can overcrop, and Wine Australia notes that low yields generally give better-structured wines. Many of the single-vineyard bottles come from old bush vines, which are pruned into free-standing shapes without trellis wires. Old vines give small crops, but age alone does not guarantee a better bottle.
Blending
Grenache is often blended. In the southern Rhône it sits alongside Syrah and Mourvèdre, and in Priorat it is usually combined with Carinyena. In Australia the Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre blend, shortened to GSM, is the most popular Grenache-based wine in export markets. Blending can add colour, tannin or structure to Grenache's fruit.
Concrete, large casks and oak
Producers choose the vessel to suit the style they want. Concrete vats and foudres, large wooden casks that add little oak flavour, keep red fruit and pepper clear. Smaller oak barrels can add vanilla and toast. Some producers ferment whole bunches with their stems, which can add a fresher, more savoury edge to the wine.
Rosé and fortified wines
Grenache is widely used for rosé, where its red fruit and gentle tannin suit a pink wine. It is also the base of the sweet fortified wines of Roussillon. In a vin doux naturel, grape spirit is added during fermentation to stop it, which leaves natural sugar in the wine. Banyuls Grand Cru requires at least 75 per cent Grenache Noir and at least 30 months in wood.
Read the label
On the bottle
A label may name the place instead of the grape. These names and terms help you work out what is in the bottle.
- Garnacha, Garnatxa, Cannonau
- The same grape under its Spanish, Catalan and Sardinian names. A Spanish label that says Garnacha or a Sardinian one that says Cannonau is telling you the grape, as an Australian label would say Grenache.
- Châteauneuf-du-Pape
- A place name, not a grape. The rules permit thirteen grape varieties and Grenache predominates in most bottles, but the label rarely names the grape. Check the back label or the producer's own notes for the blend.
- GSM
- Shorthand for a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre, common on Australian labels. It describes the grapes involved, not the proportions, so the actual composition is the better guide.
- Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris
- The white and grey forms of the vine. They appear on white wines from the southern Rhône, Roussillon and elsewhere, and are not the same style as the red grape.
- Alcohol by volume
- More useful for Grenache than for most grapes. Late ripening in warm places can push the figure high, and a wine at 15 per cent feels warmer and fuller than one at 13. If you prefer lighter reds, check it before you buy.
At the table and in the cellar
Practical use
Serve
Serve most Grenache at around 15 to 17°C. A brief time in the fridge helps a very warm, high-alcohol bottle, because cooler wine makes the alcohol less noticeable. A medium-sized glass is enough for a wine with this much fruit.
Eat
Wine Australia suggests grilled meats, game, charcuterie and lighter or moderately spiced curries. Lamb kofte, sausage cassoulet and mushroom pizza all work, because the wine has enough fruit to meet the salt and spice without a hard tannin getting in the way. Grenache rosé suits barbecue and tomato dishes.
Keep
Most Grenache is best within about five years of the vintage, while the red fruit is still clear. The finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape and some old-vine wines from Priorat and the Barossa can keep for longer. Rosé and simple Garnacha from Navarra are better young.
Taste it in three steps
Three bottles
You can try these bottles on separate occasions. Keep a note of the name, vintage and what you notice, then use the steps below to decide what to compare.
- 01
Start in the southern Rhône
Open a Gigondas or a Côtes du Rhône Villages that is mostly Grenache. Look for strawberry, white pepper and dried herbs, then notice how warm the wine feels and how soft the tannin is.
- 02
Compare Spanish Garnacha
Taste a Garnacha from Priorat or Navarra beside it, with similar alcohol if you can. Compare the weight of the fruit and any mineral or earthy flavours, and check whether the label names the grape or the place.
- 03
Try Australian Grenache and a rosé
Pour a McLaren Vale or Barossa Grenache, then a Grenache rosé. The red shows how ripeness changes the style, and the rosé shows the same grape with the skins removed early.