Bethany (Australia) Grenache 2005
Bethany’s Grenache comes from old bush vines in Barossa, which are picked late in the season to maximise ripeness of both fruit and tannins. It spends fourteen months in French and American oak, but none of it new. The colour is a bright, medium-density ruby, with immediately rich, fruitcake aromas with glimpses of orange peel and toasted almond, but a dense, jammy red fruit at the core. On the palate there is a mouth-coating flood of ripe, creamy raspberry and red plum fruit. This is thick-textured and the fruit is so sweet that some might find it cloying, but the spiciness of the grape and the older, cedary oak begins to kick in. There’s plenty of heft from the alcohol too (14.5%), but then a reasonable acid structure adds an edge. A big, expansive, buxom take on Grenache for those who like the style. 6.99, The Co-op.
