2021 Granjoux Shiraz Reviews
NOVEMBER 2024 | BY ERIN LARKIN, ROBERT PARKER WINE ADVOCATE
“Beechworth boasts a few key varieties; Chardonnay and Shiraz as obvious mainstays, with a few sensational Nebbiolos and some alternate varieties that grow well. Here, the 2021 Shiraz is grown in the vertically staked Granjoux vineyard and includes a portion of Viognier, which accounts for some of the florals in the bouquet and the silky/gravelly texture in the mouth. In the mouth, there's raspberry, pomegranate molasses, roasted meat crust, hot sun-warmed rocks, cocoa and blood. The tannins are ferruginous and silty and feel infused into the fruit. What a wine. It reminds us why Beechworth is such a natural fit for the variety. That blood, cocoa, meat and purity that so often infiltrate the tasting notes of Beechworth Shiraz are here in spades. With flavor ripeness and tannic resolution at moderate alcohol, it's a lusty combination. Inky, weightless, textural, evocative. Great. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink: 2024 – 2036.
The 1.1-hectare Granjoux vineyard is a beautiful place on the hill overlooking the Beechworth Gorge. The historic dry-stone walls that enclose it were constructed in the 1860s by Ambrose Granjoux in the early days of Beechworth, an old gold mining town established in 1852. The walls were all that was left of the place until viticulturist Mark Walpole did some research on the site. A picture found in the public archives taken from the clock tower in town showed that the dry-stone walls once enclosed a vineyard, one that had long since passed into the annals of history. The land was purchased by Peter Bartholemew and Donna Pelka in 2016, and the vineyard was restored to the site by Walpole in 2017. The organically farmed vines are vertically staked—an unusual choice of trellis in Australia—and further reinforces its unique proposition within Beechworth. The soils in the vineyard are decomposed granite, clay and slate.”
Awarded 95 points.
SEPTEMBER 2024 | BY CAMPBELL MATTINSON, THE WINEFRONT
“I’m glad to finally be taking a crack at this wine. It was sent to me nearly a year ago but following a mishap with the bottle (as in, it was dropped) I never got the chance to review it, or at least not until now. The extra time in bottle probably hasn’t hurt it.
It’s grown on an incredible little vineyard in the heart of Beechworth. It includes 2% viognier. It’s a beautiful expression of Beechworth and of shiraz. It’s peppery and floral and nutty, its woodsy spice characters running like Kelpies around the beating herd of mineral, woodsmoke and deep black cherry. We want sweetness and we get it, but we get it in a flurry of roasted peppers, in a dry, tannic context, and with mineral notes as stitching. I like the stern seriousness of this wine. I like the beauty. I love the flavour. Granjoux’s first releases are not a soft launch; they have arrived fully formed. Drink: 2025 – 2033+.”
Awarded 95+ points.
MAY 2024 | BY JENI PORT, HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION
“Made with 98/2% shiraz/viognier. The first vintage of shiraz off this amazing walled vineyard in Beechworth, and what a stunner. Fine-tuned, precise and yet plush and devilishly elegant. Dark cherries and plums all spiced up and lifted in violet, pepper, sage and aniseed, with an earthy, meaty component that brings with it some savouriness. Beautifully composed with a deep heart of spice-laden fruit, drawn together firmly with a dry, astringent flourish to close.”
Awarded 96 points.
JANUARY 2024 | BY HUON HOOKE, THE REAL REVIEW
“Colour is medium-deep, bright red-purple and the bouquet has a delightful array of sweet spices: peppery and bright, clean and showing ideal ripeness, with a gentle vegetable overtone, possibly from whole-bunch fermentation.
Succulent fruit-sweetness in the core is countered by firming tannins that give it backbone and lengthen the aftertaste. A lovely wine and a very promising first release from this close-planted vineyard of individually staked vines.”
Awarded 96 points.
AUGUST 2023 | BY MAX ALLEN, JANCISROBINSON.COM
“From a small, 1.1-hectare walled vineyard of close-planted (1.5 x 0.91 m), single-stake vines planted in 2017 on the site of a historic 19th-century vineyard. First commercial release. Like the chardonnay from the same vintage, this is still very youthful and slightly unresolved, and needs time to fill out. Some fragrant characters of plum and dried herb but subtle, with good, fine-grained tannins. Elegant, cool-climate Shiraz with good length but needs more time. Drink 2025 – 2033.”
Awarded 16.5+ points.