2021 S.C. Pannell Smart Grenache

Highly Rated
A hauntingly beautiful Grenache from some of the oldest soils in McLaren Vale. So perfumed, so pure, and built to last.
5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
4 Reviews

Price:
Sale price$75.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 2 units left

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Description

Steve Pannell has been a leading figure in the rejuvenation and reinvention of Grenache in McLaren Vale over the last 20 years. Here we see the next step in his constant pursuit of perfection for the variety.

This single vineyard Grenache is the sibling to the Old McDonald Grenache, and comes from the highest vineyard in McLaren Vale, high up on a hill in the Clarendon sub-region.

The vines that produced this beauty are approaching 70 years old. No whole bunches in this wine, the brightness and ethereal quality of the fruit takes this into transcendent territory. Smart gear indeed.

96 Points
"This is a fantastic, elongated wine that will age gracefully."
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 Points
"That tension is so appealing and refreshing. Compelling drinking."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

95 Points
"Perhaps the finest vestige of old-vine grenache in the country... A wine of paradoxical beauty and older-school sensibilities."
- Ned Goodwin MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

Truly great Grenache has aromatics and texture with vibrance and energy.

Aromas of frankincense, incense, raspberry leaf tea and orange peel transported some of us to our youth and time spent sitting or kneeling in pews. Pomegranate, persimmon, sage and white pepper, an alpine stream and fresh flowers took others to time spent in mountain air. Aromas and flavours that have the power to transpose time and place. The tannins are coiled and restrained by a corset of acid that releases on the back palate
to reveal a bustle of fruit. The texture is polite and restrained but you can’t help but feel an edginess. Its light on its feet, exquisitely balanced, salivatingly moreish and definitively medium bodied. In the words of Stephen Pannell “Geez that’s pretty”..

Region: McLaren Vale, SA
Blend: Grenache (100%)
ABV: 13.50%
Closure: 750ml
Bottle Size:
Production:

96 Points - "The 2021 Smart Grenache is very fine and bright with punctuating, pop rocky acid through the fruit. This is incredibly bright and exciting – the lingering spool of tannins and acid merge through the finish. There is pomegranate and raspberry pip, red licorice, fennel flower and a smattering of saffron. This is a fantastic, elongated wine that will age gracefully." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 Points - "Very lithe and fine, pure and frisky, sheathed in silty tannin, juicy in a way and with weight set to medium or just under. Succulent red cherry, brick-ish dusty elements in woody spices and twiggy, dried herbs, a faint fennel note, salted liquorice faintly there. Fragrant too, oh so very much. Savoury scents through with just ripe cherry underlying. That tension is so appealing and refreshing. Compelling drinking." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Perhaps the finest vestige of old-vine grenache in the country, the Smart vineyard is elevated, cool and ferrous. Pannell seems to care little about the eucalypt inflections that mark his wines, presumably part of the terroir. I'll go with it. Bloodstone, tomato leaf, pickled ume, sour cherry and cardamon teem long. A wine of paradoxical beauty and older-school sensibilities." - Ned Goodwin MW (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 Points - "Really attractive ripe strawberry with orange peel aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with dusty tannins and plenty of lemon rind texture to the vivid fruits." - James Suckling (jamessuckling.com)

5.0
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
Based on 4 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 4 Total 4 star reviews: 0 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
100%would recommend this product
4 reviews
  • DF
    David F.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    12 seconds ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Fantastic Grenache from a stellar year

    Very clean and persistent flavours.A very stylish wine

    TasteRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Interest LevelRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Value for MoneyRated 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • CS
    C/- S W.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    3 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Cork Dork
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Exquisite, top order Grenache

    The perfumed, raspberry sorbet nose captivated me instantly, the precision-tension palate confirmed the deal. Overshadowed the excellent MacDonald’s Grenache.

    TasteRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Interest LevelRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Value for MoneyRated 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • RT
    Rena T.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    3 years ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    SC Pannell Grenache

    So smooth it can't be legal! Wonderful drinking now, I can't cellar this! Help!

    TasteRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Interest LevelRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Value for MoneyRated 4.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
  • N Profile picture for Nig
    Nig
    Verified Reviewer
    4 years ago
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    This is divine!

    The nose is gorgeously Grenache, so bright to the eye and on the palate; the cooler (higher grown) fruit is perfectly just-ripe, not in the often overdone style of the Vale, the tannin/acid balance is fine and the finish is long and lush .. this wine sings its quality.

    A very cautious spender, I dropped the money on the table for this one without hesitation. Want something special? This is it!

    TasteRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Interest LevelRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
    Value for MoneyRated 5.0 on a scale of 1 to 5
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S.C. Pannell

Quite simply, Stephen Pannell is one of Australia’s finest and most imaginative winemakers. He’s a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, a McLaren Vale Bushing King winner, a two-time Max Schubert Trophy winner, International Red Winemaker of the Year and Decanter Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Contributors to the World of Wine. Nick Stock described him as potentially “one of the greatest Australian winemakers ever to make wines in our age”.

Steve’s wines are made with modern Australian food and wine culture at the front of mind. The wines come from a range of stunning McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills vineyards, and are made from sustainable varieties that properly suit his South Australian climate. They're built around brightness of fruit and savoury tannin structure, and whatever your poison is Steve has you covered!

He is truly one of the most forward-thinking and inspirational Australian winemakers alive today.

Visionary winemaker Stephen Charles Pannell Discover S.C. Pannell

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