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$30.00
When you’re in the mood for:
Cherry & raspberry • white pepper & herbs • dinner has no fixed plan
Our 2025 Grenache from Willoughby Bridge sits very happily at the lighter end of the red-wine scale — but that doesn’t mean it’s thin, simple or here to apologise for itself.
In the glass, it leans into red cherry and raspberry, with a little white pepper, dried herbs and spice sitting underneath. Think oregano, thyme, Sunday-afternoon cooking smells, and the sort of red you can pour without needing to redesign the entire meal around it.
It’s almost all Grenache, with just a tiny splash of late-picked Mataro added for shape. The Mataro doesn’t barge in and take over; it just gives the wine a little more grounding, a little more structure, and stops the lighter frame from floating away.
There’s a small amount of American oak in the background, but it’s not an oak show. The point here is red fruit, spice and easy movement through the palate — interesting, but not heavy.
This is the red for when you want flavour without thump. Good with roast veg, tomato-based dishes, lighter meats, herby things, Sunday lunch leftovers, or absolutely no food plan whatsoever.
This Grenache nearly went in a different direction.
We did consider turning it into a GSM-style blend, especially because the 2025 Grenache was lighter and more delicate than our previous vintage. The earlier version had a bit more spice and weight; this one was quieter, red-fruited and more gentle on its feet.
But the more we tasted it, the more we liked the idea of letting it stay mostly Grenache — just with a little bit of help.
So we went to the bench and started playing with Mataro. First up was an earlier-picked, fresher style that we thought might suit the lighter frame. Sensible theory. Wrong answer. It pushed the wine straight into red-fruit jube territory, which was not where we wanted to go.
Then we tried a small amount of later-picked, barrel-aged Mataro. Much better. It gave the Grenache a little more weight, a little more structure and a bit of grounding, without dragging it into big-red territory.
In the end, around 3% Mataro was enough. Not enough to turn it into a blend with a loud sidekick — just enough to help the Grenache stand up straighter.
That’s the balance we were chasing: light-bodied, but not flimsy. Red-fruited, but not lolly-like. Spicy and herby enough to keep things interesting, without needing to smack you in the head.
Interesting without being heavy. Which is harder to do than it sounds.
