Huon Hooke

The Real Review 98 Points

Deep, solid red-purple colour; earthy, broken rock and liquorice aromas, ironstone and graphite; the palate full-bodied and punchy with power and serious structure, the tannins firm yet supple and fleshy, rounded and long. A very concentrated, powerful, full-bodied grenache that is firmly at the serious end of the spectrum. Great extract and gravitas. So impressive now and will certainly live for decades. (Little Branch vineyard, Blewitt Springs. The 99th vintage from these vines).

Erin Larkin

The Wine Advocate 100 Points

The Sunrise vineyard was planted in 1920. The 2022 Sunrise Grenache marks the first time this wine has been made and released. Steve Pannell pruned the vineyard himself prior to purchasing it in 2021. The wine here is silky and seamless, packed with tannin, flavor and perfume. "I didn't make it any differently [than the other Grenaches]; I've just let the vineyard sing," he said. And sing, it does. This is a wholly complex, complete and persistently long wine. There are notes of Boscobel rose, sweet licorice, graphite, ironstone and tobacco. What a wine. In terms of character, this combines the texture and complexity of the Smart vineyard and the ethereal spice and delicacy of the Little Branch and then raises the bar of both to a whole new level. The release of this Sunrise Grenache marks the arrival of an "off-leash Pannell"; he has been tirelessly championing premium Grenache from McLaren Vale for years in his own oeuvre of structure, shape, tannin and freshness. The acquisition of this vineyard site has given him all the permission he needed, it seems. In many ways, it feels as if all of the Grenache that Pannell has made over the decades has been leading up to this point. It was worth the wait. And there are great things to come in future releases too.

Nick Ryan

The Weekend Australian 98 Points

Top 100 Wines of 2025

It’s a good thing for Australian wine that a mind as restlessly inquisitive as Steve Pannell’s devotes so much of its energy to how we could do things better. It’s an even better thing that much of its expansive bandwith is dedicated to grenache. This is the ultimate expression of all that mental energy: the most significant wine yet produced on Pannell’s grenache crusade. A section of the oldest vines on his fastidiously managed Little Branch vineyard in Blewitt Springs deliver a wine of seductive perfume, but most crucially, profound presence and purposeful tannin grit. A new dawn for Australian wine.

Ryan Montgomery

James Suckling 96 Points

Bold and deeply brooding aromas of blackberries, dark cherries, plums, blackcurrants, rose petals and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied with firm yet refined tannins, bright acidity and a high-tension mouthfeel. There is a lovely savory edge to this wine, finishing with a plush, rounded texture. Made from 99-year-old vines. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front 97 Points

Block 5, Little Branch Vineyard, Blewitt Springs, 103 year old bush vines, with 2022 being the 99th vintage. It’s likely a daft thing to say, but if the 2023 Little Branch leans into Barbaresco, this has a touch of Serralunga (Barolo) about it. My frame of reference is likely a little different to some, admittedly.

Raspberry rope, cherry pie, lots of dusty exotic spice, rosewater and musk, an earthy coffee ground bass note. It’s medium to full-bodied, lavish earthy and stony tannin, ginger and dried spice, almonds, a juicy orange character in flavour and acidity, then grainy and gently sappy on a finish that’s bold and long, though not without succulence of red fruits and so much energy. It’s superb.