2019 Les Amis
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Tasting notes
100% Grenache. Winemaker Ian Hongell. 31-year-old vines from Western Greenock. Hand-harvested. Some whole clusters. Fermented in stainless-steel tanks for 7 days with ambient and selected yeasts. Basket-pressed. Aged for 24 months in 225-litre French oak barriques (40% new). TA 5.58 g/l, pH 3.45. Old! But still dark crimson. Full-on voluptuousness – none of this whole-bunch freshness nonsense! But a well-made wine with just a little oak in evidence. Just slightly old fashioned. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
A solid and rather chunky grenache, this is muscular. It’s full-bodied yet formed and framed with serious tannins that are polished and flexing. Lots of blackberry and lead pencil. Savory. Juicy. Hints of wood at the end. This needs three or four years to come together. Better after 2024.
The 2019 Les Amis Grenache shows the hot and dry season that birthed it, in the firmness of the tannins. However, I can gladly report that the fruit shows no incumbent signs of dehydration and instead is a powerful expression of the stony, hillside site that is the Les Amis vineyard. This is excellent. 15% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.