2022 Vintage

The second year of the current La Nina cycle saw a wild, wet winter and spring followed by a mild summer and a dry autumn. Veraison was two weeks behind normal, setting winemakers' teeth on edge. All were keen to get into vintage but were forced to wait, which made for some very clean wineries prior to harvest. Poor flowering due to wild spring weather including high winds, frost and hail led to lower than desired yields. Quality was good due to the long, slow ripening period. Whites retained great acidity and
reds developed depth of flavour and complex tannins. A vintage to watch!

Our first red wine harvested and fermented from the Little Branch Vineyard. Picked on the 16th of March and immediately crushed. Carefully fermented in stainless steel
with a small percentage of whole bunch. Left on skins for 13 days before pressing. Settled in tank for 16 days before transfer to old French oak vats for malolactic fermentation and extended maturation. Bottled without fining on the 16th August 2023.

Alcohol 14%.
3.39 pH.
TA 6.2.
Total Sulphur 53ppm.

Flavour Profile: Spice from the start: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cassia then spun sugar, toffee apple and red fruits, now rose oil, leaf litter, cedar and red brick; aromas that sway and swirl. Bright red fruits dominate the palate before a zephyr of spice, and a finish laced with musk.

Structure & Texture: Suave, sophisticated and intellectual, turning it on before stealing your wallet, and yet, a yearning for more. Stealthy tannin hidden by complex flavours. The texture has a pink hue and slips past the front palate with barely a ripple before building quickly to the back and travelling on. Flavours and textures that stay with you long past the first sip.

Cellaring: The first vintage so we'll hedge our bets and say 10+ years.

97 points - "The 2022 Little Branch Grenache is from the newest estate vineyard for Pannell, in Blewitt Springs. The vines are old and are dry grown on sand-flecked ironstone. We know that Blewitt Springs is responsible for Grenache of great perfume and levity, while also being able to deliver tannins that are gossamer fine yet profuse. It's a special place. So here, we have a wine that is ultra perfumed from the get-go, with ripe strawberries, spices firmly on the "red" register of sumac, paprika and a hint of mustard seed, closing with rust and fresh blood. In the mouth, the wine is all silken earth; ferruginous tannins pave the way for a cavalcade of red fruit and a firm, almost tart finish. There is plenty to go on with here, the full package. This is a masterful first release. It's a little lighter and "redder" than the Old McDonald. It is layered and balanced. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

97 points - "This is an impactful grenache made by somebody who prizes Italian wines. The tannins are an immense force field, with kirsch, strawberries and dried Mediterranean herbs, and a note of almond husk that gives noble bitterness. The density, poise and grace are thoroughly impressive. This is a structured grenache built for the cellar. Drinkable now, but best from 2027." - Ned Goodwin (James Suckling)

97 points - "Good depth and hue of colour, with strong purple tints, the bouquet detailed and brooding with dried herbs, brown spices and well-worn leather and terracotta nuances, hints of tar and machine oil, the palate very full-bodied, power-packed and long, with masses of tannin which give it a firm and authoritative backbone. This is an outstanding grenache, very full-bodied and with long-term aging potential." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

96 points - "From the new estate vineyard for Pannell, an old but recently viticulturally retooled site in Blewitt Springs. It will be fascinating to watch this bottling over the subsequent years as Stephen and co get the full benefit of enhanced farming reflected in bottle, but this is a very bright start. There’s presently a touch more flex and breadth than the other single site grenache bottlings, but still with the tenson of the year. Wild raspberry, redcurrant jelly, bitter red aperitivo, tamarind and sour cherry. Tannins are fine, insistent and sandy, acidity a driving force. This is a stellar debut." - Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

93+ points - "A new wine! Hark! This is a grenache from Blewitt Springs and 30 year old vines grown on sand (with ironstone).

This is a vineyard of Pannell family custodianship. A touch of whole bunch in the ferment, and 13 days on skins. In the bouquet, lots of cherry elixir, maraschino, pickled cherry, strawberry, raspberry lollies and whiffs of aniseed, cola and cardamom/caraway seed savouriness. The palate an able reflection of the bouquet, a cinch of building, dusty tannin wraps up soft, sweeter fruit character, cherry-berry things, lollies and jamminess underlying. The finish a touch breathy with a young port kind of character. It feels work in progress for balance, and maturity should deliver the savoury edge some seek. Good drinking, in its youthful vigour, however." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)