Vanguardist V Grenache 2023

From the Rende (Silver Sands) vineyard in Blewitt Springs — bush vines around 55 years old — fermented 60% whole bunch with about seven weeks on skins, then matured in 2200-litre Slavonian oak. 2023 was a cool vintage, and this is the ninth release from the site: refined, fragrant and spicy, with dried cranberry, cherry, freeze-dried raspberry and orange peel, five spice, clove, cardamom, white pepper, alpine herbs, sour plum, dried mint and pressed flowers, framed by fine, firm tannin and bright acidity.

The vineyard sits at the top of Blewitt Springs, 14 kilometres from the ocean. It runs cooler than the valley floor and catches the sea breeze. The soil is deep sand. Michael Corbett points out that quarries nearby dig 30 metres down before they run out of it. Beneath the sand lie bands of red ironstone and clay loam, and he credits those layers for the wine's depth.

Corbett first walked the block in 2015 and says he felt alive the moment he did. It reminded him of vineyards he had worked in the French Pyrenees. He leases the site and farms it organically, running several small ferments each year and blending the parcels for purity and length.

After fermentation the wine spent 17 months in a 2200-litre foudre through a second winter. It was racked in early spring and bottled without fining or filtration in November 2024.