The Custodian Grenache
⏳ Drinking Window
2022 - 2028
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Slow-roasted lamb shoulder, Peking duck, or a hearty ratatouille.
✨ Technical Specifications
The Custodian Grenache is a tribute to the survival of old-vine Grenache in McLaren Vale. During the 1980s, when the South Australian government sponsored a vine-pull scheme to eradicate what was then considered an unfashionable grape, d'Arenberg refused to pull up their precious old vines, acting as 'custodians' of this historic variety. Today, these resilient, deep-rooted dry-grown vines yield fruit of incredible concentration and character. The winemaking remains resolutely traditional: grapes are gently crushed in open fermenters, foot-trodden, and basket-pressed before aging in a mix of old French and American oak barriques. This process preserves the vibrant, spicy red fruit character and earthy complexity that defines classic McLaren Vale Grenache.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1912 by Joseph Osborn, d'Arenberg stands as an iconic pillar of McLaren Vale viticulture, stewarded today by fourth-generation chief winemaker Chester Osborn. The estate spans undulating coastal landscapes influenced by the moderating maritime winds of the Gulf St Vincent, resting upon complex, ancient geologies ranging from calcareous Terra Rossa to sandy loam and weathered limestone. Viticulture is rigorous and certified organic and biodynamic across all estate-owned and leased vineyards. While renowned for formidable Rhone-style reds, d'Arenberg's white winemaking upholds identical artisanal rigor: gentle whole-bunch basket pressing ensures minimal phenolics and purity of expression. From the racy, textural The Money Spider Roussanne and crisp The Dry Dam Riesling to the lusciously layered botrytised expressions The Noble Semillon and The Noble Botryotinia Fuckeliana, the wines epitomize balance, crystalline minerality, and vibrant natural acidity.
🍇 Grapes
Grenache
🍷 ABV
14.0% - 14.5%