Grenache is the most popular grape that you have
never heard of unless you really read the
labels. It is
said to be the most planted grape in the world, over 120.000 hectares. Grenache can
be a varietal wine, however it is more famous for
what it can bring to blended wines. This
grape
ripens very later, even after Cabernet Sauvignon and
because it is on the vine so long, it has a lot
of time to produce sugar. This sugar gives Grenache wines the high
alcohol content. Most
Grenache varietal wines are at least 15% alcohol if
not more. So why does it need to be blended
with other grapes?
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| Grenache on the Vine |
Varietal Grenache wines will knock your socks off
because they are so hot. There is little
balance in these wines. They have high alcohol content, lots of sugar
with very little acid or
tannins.
Great wines have balance and this grape does not produce wines with
balance. When
blended with other big reds such as Syrah or Mourvèdre, then the balance
can be achieved and is
the reason why Grenache is such a big deal in today’s
wine world! These wines are explosive
since they combine high alcohol with the big tannins
that Syrah brings to the table. There are
five countries around the world that have discovered
this secret along with how to mass produce
it. Spain,
France, Australia, South Africa and America are all countries keeping the best
kept
secret in the wine world. The map below has all of the United States highlighted,
but please
keep in mind that this grape is mostly grown in
California.
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| Where Grenache is grown right now in 2013 |
California’s San Joaquin Valley, Southern France,
most of Spain, Australia and South Africa all
have a climate which Grenache excels in because they
are hot and dry. Grenache thrives under
water stress and while it can adapt to other
climates, it produces the most sugar in a
Mediterranean climate. As more wine is being produced all over the
world, I wouldn’t be
surprised if places like India, South America and
other African countries start to experiment with
this varietal.
In climates that get more rain, it is more susceptible to diseases such
as downy
mildew, bunch rot and coulure due to the tight grape
clusters. It is a thin grape that is
blue-black
in color and attached to a strong, woody canopy that
grows upright. This canopy makes it
difficult to mechanically harvest and is a reason
why it is getting less popular in Australia, but
might become more popular in third world countries
where mechanically harvesting is not an
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| Bottle of Grenache Shiraz |
option.
It thrives in schist and granite soil and that might
be why it is planted all over Southern France.
Grenache is usually the dominant grape in Southern
Rhone wines and is 80% of the blend
Chateneuf-du-Pape which is Rhone’s most famous wine. It is attributed to adding a spicy flavor
to this award winning wine. This is a great contrast to the fruity chewiness
it adds to Cotes du
Rhone Villages. It is often blended with Syrah and Mourvèdre. It is also grown in Languedoc
Roussillon where the heavy winds help the grape to
grow. It is the second most planted
grape in
France and is only second to Merlot. The French have
been planting not only Grenache, but other
mutations of the grape such as Grenache Blanc,
Grenache Noir, Grenache Rose and Grenache
Gris. Grenache has been used to make roses in both
France and Spain using Grenache Rose.
France’s Provence, Tavel and Lirac regions are especially
known for using Grenache in rose
wines. The
Roussillon region uses Grenache Gris and Grenache Noir in many fortified wines.
Spain is where Grenache originated from,
specifically, Aragon. Below is a map of
where
Grenache was planted in the 18th
century.
.png) |
| Where Grenache was grown in the 18th Century |
Of course a lot has changed since then, but Grenache
is still the most planted grape in Spain
which it is called Granacha. Spain grows several clonal varieties;
Garnacha Tinta, a thin-skiined
dark colored grape and Granacha Peluda which
translates to “Hairy Grenache” because of the
texture of the leaves. It is often blended with Tempranillo where
Grenache brings fruity flavors
and adds body.
Rioja often uses it for rose wines while Navarra uses it for even
lighter wines.
All Grenache are meant for early consumption since
the grape oxidizes so quickly. The
flavor
profile is usually very fruity as that is one of
Grenache’s signature flavors.
Grenache brings together fruity and spicy along with
tobacco, pepper, plums, raspberry and
blackberry. It
is almost always hot unless blended with other grape varietals. Australia has been
doing a lot of experimenting with it as a fortified
wine. This of course is not a stretch at
all since
Grenache typically produces copious amounts of sugar
which could all be fermented if the
winemaker chooses to do so. Unlike France, Australia does not have strict
wine laws and can
dabble in whatever kind of experimentation that they
desire. Australia has been doing a blend
commonly referred to as GSM which is Grenache with
Syrah and Mourvedre. South Africa does
not have strict wine laws either and has the perfect
climate for Grenache. It has been experiemnting with Grenache rose as well. It will be
interesting to see what becomes of South Africa in the wine world
and if Grenache will put it on the map.
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| Rose from South Africa |
While Grenache has been around for centuries, people
are discovering that Grenache truly can be
grown around the world. As this worldwide wine revolution is taking
place, I will be very
interested to see what becomes of this
varietal. Will more Grenache varietal
wines make an
appearance?
How about more fortified or rose Grenache wines? One thing is for sure, Grenache
is starting to get some press. September 24, 2010 was International Grenache
Day! How cool is
that?
Recently I tried a bottle of Granacha from Aragon,
Spain. The sub-region of Aragon where it
was from is called Calatayud. It was a 2011 vintage and I paid $9 for it at
the Vintage Cellar in
Blacksburg, VA.
I had to ask for help in finding a Granache varietal since none were on
display.
After some searching we found a bottle that was
drinkable and within a college students price
range.
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| Map of Spain, Aragon is colored teal |
After reading about this grape varietal I decided
that chicken, broccoli and potatoes would go
well with it.
Grenache does not have the big tannins to stand up to a nice juicy
steak, but it is not
light enough to be paired with seafood either. Chicken was a good compromise on both
ends.
Since Grenache tends to have some left over sugar, I
stayed away from anything sweet.
Broccoli
would bring out the earthy flavor that is usually in
Grenache and possibly counter act the
sweetness. Potatoes
would help to round out the high alcohol content along with the chicken.
From past experiences if a wine is too hot for me, then
I try it with either cheese or a
carbohydrate.
Theses seem to almost absorb some of the alcohol while in my mouth. I am really
not sure why this happens, but it tastes very good. The texture would become less chewy with
this meal and it would help give this wine some
structure. The body would tone down and
make
it more drinkable.
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| Chicken, broccoli and mashed potaoes |
The initial aromas I got were spicy, pepper,
blackberry and raspberry. Tobacco,
cherry,
blackberry and spicy with a hot mid-palate and a
spicy after taste. After decanting for
an hour,
more earthy, celery, barnyard, hay and horses aromas
came out and added to what I added
initially smelled.
More of the tobacco flavor came out and it decreased the hot aftertaste
just
slightly.
The intensity was very mild when I first tried
it. I had to swirl the glass for a few minutes
before
I could smell anything other than spicy. After decanting, the intensity increased, but
not as much
as I expected it to which was disappointing. I have tried this with other young reds and
it has
made a world of difference. On the nose, after decanting, the intensity
of the spicy smell did
increase as I could smell it without even swirling
the glass this time. It took some time
and
concentration to get the other aromas however. Fruit such as blackberry and cherry were the
next two in intensity. This was very similar both on the nose and
while tasting it.
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| Bottle of Grenache which I tasted. |
Big fruits and alcohol in this bottle and decanting
increased the complexity. As said above,
more
aromas and flavors came out after decanting. There was a low level of astringency and
tannins.
There was not enough acid and a high amount of
sugar. The alcohol content was 14.5% and
I
could definitely feel it as it had a very hot
lingering aftertaste. It wasn’t bitter,
much more of a
spicy flavor.
Granache is Spain’s number one grape as it makes up
55% of all the grapes grown in the
country. The
other 45% is made of many other varieties.
Mazuelo, Tempranillo, Monastrell,
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah are the other grapes
used to make red wines grown in the
region.
Macabeo, Malvasia, Granacha Blanca and Chardonnay are the grapes used to
make
white wine in the region. These are just the other grape varieties
located in Calatayud, Spain. I
am sure there are other grapes grown in Spain.
Calatayud’s climate is continental which means cold
winters and hot, dry summers. The
temperatures don’t exceed 13°C. There is the possibility of frost from
January to June. The
annual rainfall is between 300mm and 500mm. The soils are loose, stony with a lime
content.
There is a very poor amount of nutrients, but permeability
is good. The permeability helps the
roots get water and nutrients that they require. These are excellent conditions for Grenache
as it
thrives in this kind of environment.
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| Grenache on the vine with loose soil. |
I enjoyed tasting this wine very much. I wish that it had a more acidic component,
but for a $9
Grenache, I thought it was very good. This was the first varietal Grenache I have
taste, but from
my research, it seems to fall in line with what is
usually expected. I would like to try
Grenache
blended with other fruits in the future and I look
forward to doing just that.
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