Twelftree Wines Grenache Strout Mclaren Flat

Dark nose of coffee, dark chocolate, and cassis. Palate shows sweet, concentrated flavours of cassis, liquorice, and raspberry eau de vie. Soft mouthfeel: acidity and tannin are very mild, leaving only alcohol to balance the sweetness of the fruit. This has some very attractive flavours, but it's not a complete wine; it would be fantastic if it was blended with something more structured.

Spicy, meaty nose, with notes of fresh raspberry, chorizo, and charred capsicum. Palate has a nice combination of bright fruit and charred oak: strong flavours of raspberry, star anise, and barbecue smoke. Feels light-bodied and very alcoholic: tannin and acidity are present, but overpowered by alcohol.

Nose of red cherry and dried leaves, with a touch of mint. Palate shows bright, powerful flavours of red cherry and strawberry over mild background notes of earth and leather. Silky mouthfeel, with zippy acid and smooth, supple tannin. Very nice, and even better after a short time in the decanter.

fresh and delightful..... still quite hot on alcohol

Light in colour, with a hint of browning, and a small amount of sediment (though it's only six years old). Nose and palate are both complex, with bright fruit notes (plum, cranberry, cherry) enhanced by a variety of earthy, floral, and spicy notes (saffron, liquorice, forest floor, cardamom, chipotle). Palate is light-bodied and smooth, with silky tannin and sharp acidity. Alcohol is strong, but not overpowering: it gives a clean, refreshing touch to the finish. Delightfully approachable, but fascinatingly complex.

One of Twelftree’s lighter Grenache releases. Jammy red berries on the nose, blackcurrant, boysenberry, ripe blueberry, heavy spice. Palate is unusually developed - similar jammy fruits, cheesy funk, alcohol. I prefer the heavier Twelftree wines but this is not without its quaffable merits.

{screwcap, 14.8%} Light & fluffy, somewhat developed; sweet jubey red fruits, strawberry, hint of bubblegum. A little bit of spice/cinnamon/jam. Little oak, but a boysenberry/confectionary character on the palate. Low level, loose, gritty tannins; but faint. Lowish acidity. Comes across as a little warm, but not too much. Medium-bodied palate. Bit hollow on the tongue, shortish finish. More cellaring isn't necessary.

{screwcap, 14.8} Looked surprisingly advanced for so young a wine, but the nose and palate were as expected; loose-knit soft gravelly tannins, juicy, jubey fruit with a candy aspect, gentle oak, medium acid, and a warm, generous mouthfeel which might have tasted a bit fresher with less alcohol. Medium length finish, medium/full body. OK, but not terribly special. Probably not for cellaring.

{screwcap, 14.8%} The regional grenache series from Twelftree is interesting if you can compare them all 'horizantally', so to speak, which I'm not in this instance. They're a bit of a novelty, since this cuvee stretched to all of 50 dozen bottles... Anyway, it's bright garnet, not purple or black at all. Fresh, lifted, cherry and bubble gum, with strawberry and fresh red fruit. Little oak evident. The palate is surprisingly pinot-like in its translucence, with tight, minimal grapey tannins, …