97 points - "From the Springs Hill vineyard in Blewitt Springs, with the '07-planted grenache grown by Gary Whaite. Pale in the glass, this is less effusively spicy than the '23, somewhat coiled, but with more power behind it. A story of vintage. Power is misleading, though, as this is just so refined, rolling through sour red cherries, dried cranberry, fresh bay and advieh spicing – cardamom, cinnamon, rose and cloves – the tannic framework so lacy and just so finely assertive. It’s early on this, but, having tasted it over a couple of days with ample air, it’s an exceptional release with a thrilling future." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Lots of time on skins, raised in amphora, made by an all-round class act who also a) happens to be one the better human beings you’re ever likely to encounter and b) be the first person to win the Jimmy Watson with a varietal grenache. It’s been quite a thing to watch the birth of this Bulman endeavour. We’re watching something special grow up from the very ground.

Last year I scored both the Blewitt Springs/McLaren Vale and Springton/Eden Valley releases – Glen’s and Gary’s respectively – the same, though if I was forced to choose I probably would have gone for the Blewitt. Both the 2024 releases this year are surlier than their 2023 equivalents, which isn’t a bad thing. Both these wines need lots of air and, yet better, a few years in a cool, dark, stable place.

The flavour profile, the tonic notes, the firm ribs of tannin, the way it starts to slide away and then kicks back up and then, yet still, continues with an extra drift of flavour. This is a wine to reward the patient. It tastes of fresh red cherry and red licorice, iron, plum, salted spices, dried herbs and rust. There’s both substance and lightness, grunt and run. The purity of this wine feels more like honesty. It skips over the essences and drives straight for the essential. It’s the face of character, served clean, lined deep. It’s a beauty. As in, it’s beautiful, and its quality is cracking good." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

Ironstone conglomerate mixed with sand and gravel over mottled orange yellow clay at various depths. Part of the North Maslin Sand formation. 200m Altitude. Sitting on a ridge above and benefitting from the orographic lift of McLaren Vale. Facing North on a gentle slope above the Onkaparinga Gorge. Dry grown.
Gary Whaite grew the Grenache for the 2024 Vintage.

2024 Gary’s Vineyard Grenache – Picked on 4/4/24. 5% Whole Bunch. 12 days on skins pre-ferment, 8 day ferment, 61 days on skins post ferment. 182 days in a sandstone amphora.
The 2024 vintage was much drier and warmer than 2023. The resultant wines have less spice but more inherent power. Less whole bunch was used to push the fruit and tannin forward.
Gary used a sledgehammer and pick to break the conglomerate that runs through the vineyard whilst planting the Grenache. The label is of a broken piece of ironstone conglomerate gathered from the vineyard. The broken face of the rock shows reflective fragments within the rock combined with the milky way.  Subtly embossed on the label is an image of Gary holding the sledgehammer looking simultaneously into the rock and sky at once.