2024 Aphelion Callow Grenache Blanc

94 pts
Rob’s excellent, textural 'white Grenache', showing just how good this southern Rhône variety can look in McLaren Vale.

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Description

We’ve always loved how Rob Mack plays with Grenache, and this is his delicious 'white' example.

Grenache Blanc is still pretty new to Australia, though you’ll see plenty of it overseas, and it’s easy to see why. It’s bright, structured and naturally full of character — perfect for Rob’s style of winemaking.

The fruit comes from the organic Yangarra vineyard up near Kangarilla in McLaren Vale. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed and fermented mostly in stainless steel, with a small portion in old French oak just to round out the edges. No tricks, no fuss — just a clean, focused expression of the variety.

What we love about this wine is its balance. There’s plenty of citrus and nashi pear fruit, a dusting of spice, and that gentle, textural grip that makes it great with food. It’s a wine that feels effortless but has plenty going on under the surface.

94 points - "From the Yangarra vineyard, whole-bunch pressed, with 60% fermented in steel, and the balance in neutral and third-fill French oak barriques and a new Stockinger hogshead. Poached apple, Packham pear, fresh ginger, custard apple, melon, quince, unripe nectarine, a little brown spice. It’s open and textural, marshalled by the oak component and fine phenolics to give this a dryly invigorating finish." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

93 points - "Aromas of lemon peel, grapefruit, stone fruit, chalk and fresh flowers. The palate is medium-bodied with nice intensity and focused acidity. Salty, citrusy and textured. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - Ryan Montgomery (James Suckling)

92 points - "Pear, honeydew melon, some aromatic herbs and spice. It’s a gently chalky affair with some pithy bitterness, pear and again that perfume of herbs, a little bit waxy too, and finishes quite dry with grip and a slightly saline aftertaste. Nice wine. A textural style." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews

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Andrew E.
2022 Aphelion Callow Grenache Blanc

An excellent example of a rare white varietal, on the more lucious end if the scale. Perfect with a roast chook.

Our love affair with Grenache now extends to it's white wine form.

Presenting the Callow - meaning "unfledged".

Grenache Blanc is an exciting new variety to Australia which is in millions of glasses in the US.

Rob's take on Grenache Blanc has intense and vibrant aromatics mingling with citrus and spice.

A textural edge provides a food friendly aspect.

Cinnamon and nutmeg spice complement the nashi pear and stone fruit flavours.



Variety: Grenache Blanc.

Summary: Fruit from a single vineyard near Kangarilla in McLaren Vale is hand-picked and whole bunch pressed to create a wine of purity, freshness, and elegance. Vibrant acidity provides potential for the wine to cellar well over the medium term.

Tasting Note: Intense and vibrant fruit character aromatics mingle with citrus and spice. A textural edge provides a food friendly aspect, and cinnamon and nutmeg spice complement the nashi pear and stone fruit flavours.

Goes With Food: Bouillabaisse matches the body and spicy notes of this wine.

Goes With Cheese: Comté will not overwhelm the wine and the spice characters of the wine add complexity to the match.

Goes With Music: Muse - Stockholm Syndrome.

Goes With Life: Textural and aromatic, this wine opens up to a great first
glass of the evening or matched to a feature dish of the evening.

Serve At: 10-12 degrees Celsius.

When to Drink: Ready to drink now but will cellar well over the next 5 - 8 years.

Vineyard: Sourced from the organic & biodynamic Yangarra vineyard near Kangarilla in McLaren Vale.

Winemaking: The fruit was hand-picked and whole bunch pressed to
ferment in stainless steel to retain freshness and varietal character. A slow
and cool ferment occurred and once complete 20% of the wine was
transferred to second use French oak to mature with the balance remaining
in tank. The batches were combined just prior to bottling in August 2021.

| Vegan |

Production: 591 six-packs produced under screwcap.

ABV%: 12.9%

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Grenache Blanc
Country Australia
Region McLaren Vale
Australian State SA
Reviewed By Halliday Wine Companion
The Wine Front
James Suckling
Critic Score 94
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Aphelion

Aphelion was established by Rob Mack and Louise Rhodes with a clear vision. They had one thing on their mind, to craft: "Genuine, Authentic, Quality McLaren Vale Grenache."

A couple of vintages in and they are right on the money. They have close relationships with local growers in the Vale who provide them with excellent Grenache fruit and Rob's deft touch in the winery takes care of the rest.

The range is slowly growing, as is their family. Their investigation into their pet variety is deepening, as is their fan base. The small batches of wine that come out of the Aphelion stable should have a close eye kept on them, more often than not there's something exciting and great value in the bottle.

Winemaker Rob Mack Aphelion

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