2024 S.C.PANNELL Little Branch Grenache

Darker and richer than previous vintages. Captivating, complex, medium-bodied wine with beautiful, supple tannins and a persistent finish.

Many, many years of ageing potential, try 15+

This from 35-year-old trellised vines, but now also with 40% of the centenarian bush vines; 12% whole bunch, maturation in old oak vat and puncheons. This is charming from first pour. Not flashy, just engaging and open, yet with trademark tannin scaffolding. Fruit flavours are a little darker, deeper than the '23, tracing the vintages. Red and black cherry, fresh and pressed rose, ras el hanout spicing, wild raspberry, pomegranate molasses, musk and rosewater, warm terracotta, dried orange and rust. The palate is savoury, absent a sweetspot; instead, fruit is enmeshed in those natural tannins – grippy, pithy, sandy and impressively persistent.

96+ points, Marcus Ellis - Wine Companion

Good depth of red-purple colour; sweetly perfumed scent of dried flowers, dried herbs and ironstone, the palate powerfully concentrated and profoundly flavoured, with a fruit-sweet core and a big cushion of tannins, the entirety building towards a climactic finish that rolls on very long and satisfying. A majestic grenache that will reward long-term cellaring, but also gives great pleasure now.

97 points, Huon Hooke - The Real Review