98 points - "A fragrant and charismatic nose of raspberry jelly crystals, heady spices, rosehip and English Breakfast tea leaves you in a fix. Its buoyant and bright core is supported by a scaffolding of fine silty tannins that coat the tongue and ever so slightly pucker the cheeks. It's beautifully tactile and transparent. This is among the most exciting Aussie wines I've had in a long time - and it's only one year old. It's full-bodied with incredible grace and poise. Wow! I'd love to have this for the cellar." - Gabrielle Poy (The Real Review)

97+ points - "Looking at this lineup of 2024 Grenaches, it is evident that 2024 was not a high-color year. However, the wines are abundantly aromatic, fresh and imbued with fine pliable structure, so with one we accept the other. So here, the 2024 Sands of Time Old Vine Single Vineyard Grenache penetrates the palate with sapid fruit flavors; the tannins "roll" more than they "shape," and they pervade every dark corner of the fruit. Everything here is in such lithe balance, and it truly is a pleasure to drink. McLaren Vale Grenache, at the height of its powers, can be all things in one glass: supple and fine, powerful and statuesque, silky and structured, long and deep. This is a superstar, make no mistake. The fruit was handpicked from Sue Trott's home vineyard and fermented wild with 30% whole bunches in concrete pyramids. It matured in both concrete and oak. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

97 points - "From Sue Trott’s Blewitt Springs vineyard, planted in '52 to deep Maslin Sands. The Trott vineyard typically throws a slightly darker fruit profile, and this wine can be a little slower to emerge after bottling, but this year it’s open, perfumed and engaging from the beginning. That’s not to say it’s simpler – far from it. Refined, elegant, suffused with pressed florals and dark spice notes, rosehip tea, dried black cherry, iron, fennel seed and warm stone, the shape and drive reminiscent of nebbiolo, though more Valtellina than Langhe. That comparison is just for communication, as this is strikingly its own thing, another arrow finding the bullseye to show why modern Australian grenache is one of world wine’s most exciting categories. Sublime." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "Very aromatic, ripe raspberry, rosehip, exotic spice, slight liquorice, orange peel. Medium to full-bodied, but bright, but good concentration, raspberry, balanced acidity, fine stony tannin, albeit with some firmness, and excellent length, with something of an amaro tang on the finish and some peanut flavour. Super wine. It’s maybe a little warmer and more breathy than the Charming Man, but gee, it has impact and power." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Succulent, chiseled and seamless, this grenache exhibits notes of blood oranges, roses, warm spices and stones. Medium-bodied with melted tannins. The delicious stream of succulent, tangy fruit at the center has a touch of peppercorns and dried herbs that bring energy. Focused and long with a vibrant finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap." - James Suckling

Sands of Time Single Vineyard Grenache 2024
Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale

Early on in our Grenache journey, we were introduced to Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. Its beautiful aspect, raised elevation, and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for dry-grown bush-vine Grenache, and we were lucky to be offered the opportunity to purchase a little fruit. Some years on, we have learned a lot about the site and refined our picking decisions and vinification to the extent that from 2017, we were content that we could do the site justice by bottling separately.

2916 Bottles & 42 Magnums

Tasting
A faithful expression of the site – beautiful, haunting aromatics, fine sandy tannins, and wonderful, memorable length on the palate.

Viticulture
Sourced from one vineyard, planted in 1952, with bush-trained vines on pure sand yielding a wine of immense purity and power that is both light and intense at the same time.

Winemaking
Fruit was handpicked on 22nd March ‘on the way up’. We vinify naturally in a concrete pyramid and place whole bunches alternately with de-stemmed fruit to create a layer cake. 33% whole bunch. A very gentle, slow fermentation is followed by maturation in oak and concrete before a careful selection is done, which is then bottled unfined and unfiltered 10 months later.

Wine Analysis
• Varietal: 100% Grenache
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• Total Acidity: 5.89 g/l
• pH: 3.24
• SO2: 87 mg/l

Vintage Conditions
The 2024 vintage, being the first El Niño season, was expected to be warm and dry, but if anything, the early season conditions were the opposite. Unsettled, cool, and sometimes wet weather resulted in erratic fruit set, but from the end of January onwards, the weather was settled and very dry. Aside from a few days of heat in March, the season continued with moderate temperatures and mild conditions, allowing for picking all varieties at the ideal moment.

Certifications
This wine carries the Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Trust Mark.
It is both vegetarian and vegan friendly.