September 2023
CIRILLO ESTATE WINES
Grenache 1850 Ancestor Vine 2017
- 96 points -
The vineyard that is the source for this wine was planted in 1848 and endures today. The vines are bush vines, but some of the vines have single stakes here and there to support the old wood. It's a special place. 2017 was cold and wet in the Barossa and high cropping across the region. This was a challenging combination for many producers; however winemaker Marco Cirillo openly prefers these vintages, and that can only be down to the fact that these old vines are largely self regulating with their yields and growth. So, this 2017 Ancestor Vines 1850 Grenache flows in the mouth with red berries, finely crushed rocks for tannins, tobacco and pepper berry, pastrami, pink peppercorns, raspberry seed and caper brine. It has a lovely flavor arc in the mouth, supple. It is clear, pure, sensational. I love the tannins. It's sapid and palate staining but so light! The wine was matured in a combination of tank and barrel. (Twenty percent of the wine was matured in old wood for just seven months). It then spent five years in tank prior to bottling. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
About Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate was a bi-monthly publication and Robert Parker Wine Advocate continues this tradition, although articles and reviews are now published every week. The main goal is to publish regionally focused reports, which mainly offer wine reviews of new wine releases, but they also produce important vintage retrospectives and occasionally single-label verticals and producer profiles. Since 2019, Robert Parker Wine Advocate has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michelin Group.