The Judgement of Wimbledon Blind Tasting 2024 – A Celebration of Glorious Grenache…
After multiple blind pre-selection tastings, the scene was finally set for the 2024 Judgement of Wimbledon Grenache blind tasting showdown. Technically now in its 7th year of enactment, after much deliberation, including tastings, drinking and comparative blind taste-offs, 16 wines were chosen to make the starting grid for this latest instalment. This year’s selection included four wines from DOC Priorat, five wines from DO Sierra de Gredos, two from DO Valdejalón (north of Calatayud), one from DO Calatayud, one from DOC Rioja, one from DO Vinos de Madrid, and two from South Africa.
With climate change increasingly making itself felt across the winemaking world, the march of more drought resistant Mediterranean grape cultivars continues at a furious pace, with Grenache or Garnacha sitting in pole position in many regions. In some countries like South Africa, cultivars like Cinsault have captured the imagination of many new up and coming winemakers, but in pure premium fine wine terms, few cultivars can rival Grenache. Until fairly recently one of the most widely planted black grape variety in the world, it has also largely been ignored in fine wine circles, that is, until now.
Some thanks should be apportioned to Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Priorat for inspiring Grenache’s current rise in popularity, and of course for helping pure varietal wines from this grape to command increasingly significant amounts of money in the global fine wine marketplace. As the cultivar has risen in eminence, brand leaders have also emerged from various regions around the world, none more so than in Spain, and to a lesser degree, in South Africa. While Spain’s Grenache flag wavers may be more plentiful, with producers like Alvaro Palacios in Priorat and Daniel Landi in Gredos, making significant quality strides in recent years, likewise in South Africa, iconic producers like Eben Sadie and Ian Naude have helped lead a Grenache revolution in the Swartland, producing fresh, ethereal, delicate, mineral-driven expressions in a notable stylistic departure away from the riper, more alcoholic, hedonistic, Chateauneuf-esque styles of Grenache that came to dominate the market in the early to mid-noughties.
Almost all the big name, big money wine labels made in a more sophisticated, terroir-driven style, now seem to come from the Spanish heartlands, with many producers making multiple micro-winery boutique labels from old vine plots of Garnacha that in many instances were often abandoned and nearly forgotten and lost for future generations. Grapes that used to be sold off to local co-operatives for below-cultivation cost prices, are now finally being rediscovered with a newly found appreciation for these cherished old vine plots.
Unsurprisingly, some very impressive single cultivar Grenache wines can of course be found across the New World wine regions, including eye-catching old vine expressions from the Barossa Valley in Australia and from various sites across California. While examples from these regions were included in some of the preliminary rounds, the judges simply felt a more stylistic affinity to the fresher, tauter, more mineral expressions of Grenache / Garnacha. Also, in recent years of the Judgement tastings, a greater effort has been made to source wines all from the same vintage, or at least, from the latest current release year. For this reason, showing a 2011 or 2012 Chateau Rayas would serve little purpose, as these wines are not only too easily identifiable but also too individual, tertiary, and evolved in contrast to the new release wines.
Judgement of Wimbledon 2024 Blind Tasting Line Up:
Wine 1 – Terroir Al Limit Les Manyes 2021, DOC Priorat, Spain
Exotic pink and purple blossom, peonies, lavender, and hints of pink musk over granitic minerality, sweet peppercorns and subtle wood spice. Palate texture is sleek, tight, and polished, with density, charcoal spice, peppercorns, sweet grilled herbs on a long, compact finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 2 - Torres Mas de la Rosa Vinyes Velles 2019, DOC Priorat, Spain
A sweeter fruited, more classical Grenache profile of bramble berries, tilled earth, and winter stewed fruits with subtle notes of cured meats and chargrilled charcuterie. Plush, ripe and exotically fruited on the palate with salty raspberry, cassis, super fine grained tight knit silky tannins. Beautiful depth and balance on this classy example!
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 3 - Uvas Felices Reina de Los Deseos 2021, DO Vinos de Madrid, Spain
A prettier, more floral, lifted aromatics with violets, fresh rose petals, dried herbs, red currant and Asian spices. Beautifully soft and supple on the palate, impressively sleek and tight knit with a powdery texture, plenty of grilled herbs, spicy black berry and waxy incense and exotic red berries on the finish with a warming alcohol touch.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 4 - Comando G El Tamboril 2021, DO Sierra de Gredos, Spain
Taut and mineral, but with air reveals exotic notes of vermouth botanical herbs, burnt orange peel and Asian five spice over subtle notes of chalk dust. Cool fruited, stony and spicy with vermouth herbal spice, polished tannins and spicy, red berry notes. Chalky, mineral and quite tight knit. A very serious offering.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 5 – Comando G Rumbo Al Norte 2021, DO Sierra de Gredos, Spain
Tight and saline with smoky hints and notes of iodine, kelp, and maritime salinity over pink musk, rose petals, bathroom soaps and cherry cola spice. Tight and sleek textured, there is a wonderful polish to the tannins, purity and focus, understated power and mineral elegance, with a delicately pithy, picante, finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 6 - Alvaro Palacios Quinon de Valmira Vinedo Singular 2021, DOC Rioja, Spain
Packed full of sweet red berry nuances, creme de cassis, black plum, bramble berries and ripe raspberry. Full and plush, this hits the pleasure G-spot on the palate with tangy black berry fruits, juicy mouth-watering acids, and a long, fleshy, seductive finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 7 - Cuevas de Arom Tuca Negra 2021, DO Calatayud, Spain
Taut and tight with subtle notes of purple grape candy, Parma violets and sweet cherry spice. Bright and crystalline on the elegant, fresh, glassy palate that shows such a lovely light touch elegance, sleek silky balance, and an understated, pink musk and red fruited finish. Very impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 8 - 4 Monos Viticultores La Danza del Viento La Isilla 2021, DO Sierra de Gredos, Spain
This wine shows rich and exotic aromatics of grape candy, Wrigley's bubblegum, and soft spicy hints of Asian five spice, dried herbs and potpourri. The aromatics are matched on the palate by an opulent grapey, candied depth and breadth, fine chalky drying mineral tannins, and a wonderfully focused, tight knit texture. Long, persistent in flavour, and really quite attractive.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 9 – Naude Family Wines Grenache 2020, WO Western Cape, South Africa (Swartland)
Ripe and exotic aromatics with hints of grilled herbs, cured meats, and subtle hints of diesel rag. A full, fleshy entry holds its shape in the mouth, unfurling with layers of sweet cherry, strawberry, and tart red plum intensity, finishing with a delicate salinity and a crystalline purity. A thoroughly charming wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 10 – Comando G Tumba del Rey Moro 2021, DO Sierra De Gredos, Spain
Taut, classical, and mineral with hints of dried herbs, potpourri, sandalwood, and cedar spices. A compact and incredibly complete palate texture showing savoury earthy notes of bramble berries, strawberry compote, graphite tannins and sleek, silky tannins on the finish. Classy!
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 11 – Sadie Family Wines Old Vine Series Soldaat 2021, WO Citrusdal Mountains, South Africa
Deep, dark and spicy with hints of tar and creosote, railway yard, wood smoke and burnt wood embers with cured meat nuances. The palate is mineral and smoky, focused and taut, showing incredible tension and precision, minerality and a certain sense of terroir. Picante, herbal and spicy, the texture is super elegant and harmonious. A very serious glassful indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 12 - Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra 2020, DO Sierra de Gredos, Spain
Attractive notes of raspberry boiled sweets, cherry cola, and sweet sappy spices with subtle grilled herb notes. The palate shows a lovely breadth and depth, a creamy elegance and harmonious balance, with lactic black fruits, black currant, spicy mineral stony nuances and a drying, grippy, chalky, powdery finish. This certainly packs a punch.
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 13 – Familia Perez Ovejero Mas Martinet - Camí Pesseroles 2021, DOC Priorat, Spain
Sweet exotic aromatics of purple bubble gum, grape rock candy, pink musk, and subtle cola hints. Like the nose, the palate shows a luxurious ripeness, opulence and candied plush, fleshy breadth that is very well managed, creamy, succulent and chalky. Fabulous persistence. Lovely.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 14 - Bodegas Frontonio El Jardín de Las Iguales Garnacha 2021, DO Valdejalón, Spain
Attractive aromatics of black berry, blueberry, grape rock candy, graphite spice, grilled meats, smoky spice and delicate potpourri nuances. Lovely precision and tension with focus, purple black berry spice, blueberry fruit, and candied black cherry persistence. Seductive, stern, but very charming.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 15 - Bodegas Frontonio Las Alas de Frontonio La Tejera 2021, DO Valdejalón, Spain
Peppery and precise with notes of raspberry rock candy, cherry sweets, strawberry pith and delicate mineral notes. The palate is beautifully polished, taut and pristine, showing subtlety, crystalline purity, tart bright cherry acids, and a very translucent finish. True elegance and class.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine 16 - Alvaro Palacios L'Ermita Velles Vinyes 2021, DOC Priorat, Spain
Loaded with darker, broodier black berry fruits with hints of cassis, black cherry and spiced black plum compote. The palate is rich and seductive, broad, textured and powerful but stacked with elegance, precision and delicious purity, finishing with cola, cherry compote and vanilla pod spice. Simply awesome!
(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Note: Above scores and notes are simply my impressions and mine alone as a record of the wines tasted under fully blind conditions. Full group results appear below.
Conclusions: by Riaan Potgieter
“The quality on show in this lineup left me in awe and, frankly, quite overwhelmed. Whist there have been many great vintages, from the Spanish regions in particular, it seems the quality has just taken another step up in 2021. This view was certainly reinforced by conversations with a number of producers I’ve spoken with since the JoW 2024 tasting took place earlier this year. The quality on show did present quite a challenge to the tasters, as it was so hard to separate the wines at first. I think the slightly riper and fuller styles rewarded early on but later in the day, and with the benefit of a few hours of aeration in the glass, the tighter more mineral driven wines really started to excel. For the first time in a JoW, I’d say we should have waited a few years before tasting the wines. Luckily we can always revisit the wines.”
“My personal favourite of the day was the Tuca Negra (pipping the Rumbo by the smallest of margins), a new entrant to JoW, but showing the ever increasing quality from a broad range of regions. I recently spent a day with a top Gredos producer, and his view is that Spanish producers are gaining more confidence to experiment and, as a result, are finding a new and improved homegrown vinous voice. I’d certainly agree wholeheartedly, and add that their successes to date seem to be spurring producers on to go even further in search of precision and purity. This is evident in the 2021s, which is easily the best vintage we’ve tasted to date. Those gnarly high altitude old vines, and the people who tend them so carefully, really are starting to redefine Spanish fine wine.”
“Another thing I discovered, which may be unsurprising yet very telling, is that many of the best producers in this lineup and beyond are not only following a similar philosophy (but not necessarily the same specific practices), but are also in regular contact. They share a passion for the soil and their vines, and want to express terroir in its purest form, with very little intervention. Reflecting on the history of this event, I recall how difficult it was in the early days to find a lineup of 10 wines… this year we had to whittle down the final selection from a list of over 30+ wines. This tasting left me so excited about the future of Grenache, and I can’t wait for next year.”
~ Riaan Potgieter, JofW Convenor of Judges
So that’s a wrap for the Judgement of Wimbledon for another year. But rest assured, the voyage of discovering top new producers and new single terroir Grenache expressions from all over the world continues unabated. In much the same way that learning about and understanding truly great Burgundy is a long and arduous task with few short cuts, premium Grenache is also a cultivar that is starting to shadow box and copy many of Burgundy’s complex philosophies and doctrines. If you are new to the category of premium Grenache, or even already an enthusiastic connoisseur, try seeking out some of the new producers in the above tasting, as they will undoubtedly open up a whole lot of windows onto an exciting new and growing fine wine category.