2017 Hutton Vale Farm Grenache Mataro

93 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

There’s an elegance to the fruit and a heaviness to the oak, a combination that could be deemed at-0dds save for the fact that both the fruit and the oak are of such high quality. Cedar, sand, spice-splashed redcurrant, asphalt, clove and peppermint characters beaver energetically through the palate. There’s alcohol warmth here but there’s also a gorgeous frame of perfectly integrated, dry, almost grainy tannin. It’s four years old but I’d still hold off for another year or so before tucking in to this high-polish red.

93 POINTS

Angus Hughson - Winepilot.com

Far from the usual Eden Valley blend, this wine came about thanks to a little mistake in the vineyard – the accidental replacement of grenache vines with mataro. It’s not all bad news with mataro’s natural inclination towards earthy, savoury fruits clearly at home in the Eden Valley. 2017 was a dry vintage and it’s made this wine better suited to earlier drinking. That said, it’s already displaying attractive aged complexity so is at peak right about now. The fruit characters are savoury and hearty – mixed spice and sage aromas over a bed of baked earth, terracotta, mulberry and oak. What follows is a dry and slightly rustic palate – tarry, meaty, dark fruits flavours are supported by chewy, drying mataro tannins that linger nicely. It’s bold in style so well suited to stews and roasts.

91 POINTS

James Suckling

A cooler vintage with ripe-fruit aromas of spiced blueberry, currant and tar. The palate has soft and ripe blueberry and plum flesh. Builds a redder-berry edge with black tea on the finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

90 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Deepish ruby to brick-red colour. The bouquet is minty and rather oaky, with some earthy development, the palate drying and very savoury, showing liberal oak and wood tannins that linger. A big, somewhat clumsy wine that lacks the elegance typical of the region.

Tyson Stelzer

85/15% grenache/mataro, co-planted by accident, in a single vineyard in Hutton Vale. Hand picked; no whole bunches, matured 24 months in 20% new French oak puncheons. The cool 2017 season has made for a savoury and spicy blend, already evolving to a bricking hue and earthy flavour spectrum. Sweet, spicy berry fruits and dried herbs linger amidst tangy acidity and fine, supple tannins. A vintage to drink now.