2023 RW Grenache

$80.00 / bottle

This is the exciting fourth release of the RW Grenache, to partner our other super premium varietals, HJ Shiraz and DJ Cabernet. Now known collectively as ‘The Greats’, these wines represent generations of family members who have been instrumental in the creation of greatness at Oliver’s Taranga.

The RW is named after our great-grandfather RW (Robert William) Oliver, city councillor, farmer and gifted sportsman, RW took the Taranga vineyard into the 20th century.

Specifications Reviews Video

Specifications

Region

McLaren Vale

Winemaker

Corrina Wright

Grape Variety

100% Grenache

History

The RW Grenache has now cemented its place as a partner our other super premium wines the HJ Shiraz and DJ Cabernet with this fourth release. The RW is named after our great-grandfather RW (Robert William) Oliver, city councillor, farmer and gifted sportsman, RW took the Taranga vineyard into the 20th century.

Aroma

Forest fruits and spice, wild berries, savoury cured meats, wet stone, brambles. Ironstone and rose.

Palate

Medium bodied palate, chalky, silky long tannins, plenty of red berry fruit, a touch of vanilla sweetness, cacao nibs and tea leaves. Drink with game or a cracking rabbit stew.

Wine & Vintage

2023 was the third year in a row impacted by La Nina, which meant a long cool ripening period and solid rains leading up to harvest. Grenache in some parts of the Vale suffered with a terrible set in the cooler weather, and a very low crop - but thankfully the Taranga vineyard was spared and we were thrilled to have some awesome parcels to play with.

Colour

Ruby red

Alcohol

14.5%

Reviews

10% whole bunches used with the rest made up of whole berries. Matured in seasoned puncheons and stainless steel. Iron rusted rock, redcurrant and lingonberries. Scuffed sandstone, Earl grey tea and miso. A seamless palate from start to its very long peacock tail finish. Filled with fruit, Moroccan spice and a silk thread of tannins. Glimmering with sun kissed berries and a willowy elongated flicker of acidity. Beautifully poised, this will age very well, say another 12 years or so. Drink with pink flesh game meats or bacon and rabbit stew. 96pts

- Shanteh Wale, Winepilot

A compelling and complex delivery of McLaren Vale Grenache. Its strength is not so much boldness but real poise, showing the “other” side of the grape that more and more drinkers are eager to see and winemakers keen to strive for. Generous in flavour in roasted plum, blackberry, liquorice, clove with a splash of lifted pepper. It is finely delivered with a textural smoothness that is such a big part of the wine’s attraction – it glides. A seamless beauty that can easily be enjoyed now . . . or later. 96pts

- Jeni Port, Winepilot

A bottle of McLaren Vale Grenache is unquestionably one of the most in-demand Aussie reds. And with good reason. This is bottle number 05934 of Oliver’s Reserve Grenache, named after the winemaker’s great-grandfather RW (Robert William) Oliver and produced from the oldest bush vines on the property. The nose is dense with forest spice, a tangle of wild berries, deep and brooding in the undergrowth, but here they shine bright in McLaren Vale sunshine. There’s a savoury element at play here, too, taking this into the serious Grenache category. Cured meat, barberry, dusty cocoa nib and baked red dirt complete the picture with the subtlest dusting of vanilla sweetness. The medium-bodied palate is tense and tightly wound with chalky tannins, brambles and cherries, and a subtle sweet smokiness poking through the spice mix. Vibrant and long-limbed acid draws through, keeping this spritely in its youth and age-worthy if put down to rest. Fantastic length, lots of complexity and intrigue that continues to unfurl in the glass. Give this time, and there’s plenty more to come. 95pts

- Cass Charlick, Winepilot