Granjoux A Name To Watch
FEB 19, 2024 | BY HUON HOOKE, IN WINERY SPOTLIGHTS
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Granjoux is an exciting new name to reckon with in the Beechworth region. The first vintage of its wines, a chardonnay and a shiraz, have just been released from this single vineyard, located just outside the Beechworth township, on the site of a notable 19th century vineyard. The vines are not trellised in the usual way, they are individually staked – on posts imported from France’s Côte Rôtie region in the northern Rhône Valley, where this method, introduced by the ancient Romans, is still the preferred method of training grapevines. These wines are not cheap at AUD $125 each, but they are superb quality and scarce, with an interesting story.
The original vineyard was planted in the 1860s by a Frenchman, Ambrose Granjoux, but the land had been fallow for a long time before it was replanted in 2017 by renowned viticulturist Mark Walpole (Fighting Gully Road).
The owners of this 2.2-acre walled block of closely-spaced vines, Peter Bartholomew and Donna Pelka, recently launched the two inaugural wines, both from the 2021 vintage. The chardonnay was
whole-bunch pressed, fermented in stainless steel and racked into French oak barrels (40% new) for 16 months. The shiraz includes 2% co-planted viognier. Most of the fruit was destemmed and fermented in stainless steel before aging in French oak puncheons. A minor fraction of the fruit was fermented as whole bunches in a terracotta amphora. There were 1086 bottles of chardonnay produced and 2650 of the shiraz. These wines are not cheap at AUD $125 each, but they are superb quality and scarce, with an interesting story. Also, bottle-aging (in climate-controlled storage) has been advantageous and a rare luxury for Australian wines, especially chardonnay.
Retailers include Armadale Cellars, Prince Wine Store and Blackhearts & Sparrows (Melbourne), and Project 49, Beechworth. A Sydney distributor is likely soon. I found both wines to be outstanding. The chardonnay is very fine and subtle, more in the style of Adrian Rodda’s A. Rodda Wines than Giaconda, while the shiraz is spicy, elegant and complex in a lovely cool-grown style. Indeed, inquiries revealed the wines were made by Adrian Rodda and Mark Walpole.
Peter Bartholomew is a Melbourne-based restaurateur/investor, with a hand in Movida, Lee Ho Fook, Rosa’s Canteen, Tonka, and Coda. His latest venture is the Stanley Hotel, near Beechworth.
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