Chateau Tanunda ‘The Everest’ Grenache 2008
15%, Cork, $160!
Source: Scammed a glass off a coworker
www.chateautanunda.com

Easily the most expensive straight Grenache around, this is sourced from 40yr old Greenock Grenache vines cropped at just 0.7 – 1.0 tonnes to the acre. It also has one of the biggest fuck off punts I’ve seen – it’s so big that you might put a hand in there and lose your watch. In fact, the whole packaging is rather old school/old money serious, with some slightly daggy labels and a cork closure (which looks oddly out of place on a premium Grenache – or is that just me?) the only drawbacks of the traditional packaging.

The wine itself certainly smells like full flavoured Grenache, with a jammy, cooked raspberry jam and stewed plums nose that looks just a fraction overripe. It’s a sweet nose though, stuffed with (volatile) powerful fruit. Interestingly the palate opens up hard and hot, but the longer it sat in the glass the more fleshy (and fresh) it looked. It carries a dense, red fruit and oak rich palate that I’m still calling it a little overripe and oak driven (though it’s just an oak density really, not an oak sweetness) but is difficult to argue with in terms of power and weight.

Can’t fathom the price, but I can see the point here. 17.4/91